Although many might believe that the question of the audit of Minister Konrad Mizzi is a closed chapter, there is still the outstanding issue of the audit the minister asked the tax commissioner to carry out on his financial affairs.
And when asked for a status update on that second audit this week, the minister and his secretariat both refused to reply to this newspaper’s questions.
The audit that had been submitted to the PANA Committee last February was an audit into his Panamanian company, but the pending audit by the IRD concerns his financial affairs.
Inland Revenue Commissioner Marvin Gaerty, when contacted by this newsroom, also declined to give any updates on the tax audit he is meant to be performing into Minister Konrad Mizzi.
This newsroom made clear that the request was just for the status of the audit, and whether it has been concluded or not.
“Such information is subject to secrecy and confidentiality, we are precluded from divulging any information on taxpayers,” the Commissioner said.
This newsroom highlighted that Minister Mizzi himself had, on a number of occasions, mentioned the audit, and that Minister Mizzi is a public official. It was also explained that this newsroom was not requesting a copy of the audit, but just information as to whether it has been concluded, and if not, when a conclusion was to be expected.
However, the tax commissioner insisted, perhaps correctly, “The law does not make any exceptions – we cannot divulge ANY information on ANY taxpayer. Article 4 of the Income Tax Management Act clearly states that every person having any official duty or is employed in the administration of the Income Tax Acts shall regard and deal with all documents, information, returns and assessments relating to the Income Tax Acts, or copies thereof, as secret and confidential and shall make and subscribe before the Court of Appeal a declaration on oath to that effect in the form prescribed.”
The thing is that Dr Mizzi had said in a statement last year that his Panamanian company would be closed only after the tax commissioner’s audit was completed, but this week he said that the company was being liquidated.
His ministry had stated, "To avoid baseless speculation and also to respond to genuine feedback, Dr Konrad Mizzi has decided that after the conclusion of the Tax Audit which he requested to the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, he will proceed with the closure of Hearnville Inc which is registered in Panama. There will be full disclosure on the dissolution process.”
But there are two things here that do not add up. Firstly, when pressed by journalists this week, Dr Mizzi said that his Panamanian company has been "undergoing liquidation" since January, which shows that the promise of full disclosure on the dissolution process is not being kept. Secondly, the minister has proceeded with closing his Panamanian company without the promised audit having yet been concluded, or it has been concluded and he is reticent about publishing the results.