SwissLeaks, Panama Papers, the Malta Files and now the Paradise Papers.  Over the last few years the world has seen a veritable deluge of financial leaks that have exposed the wheelings and dealings of the tax-dodging elites of this world. 

But as far as Malta is concerned the issue is twofold: in some of these leaks Malta's tax imputation system has been dragged through the dirt and many have been the calls for amendments to be made.  Cases in point here are the Malta Files and the more recent Paradise Papers.

Others have shown how Maltese politically exposed people have made use of such systems in other, far more financially dubious countries.  Maltese PEPs have been exposed in both the SwissLeaks case, where former Nationalist ministers Ninu Zammit and Michael Falzon were shown to have had secret, undeclared and undisclosed stashes in Switzerland.  And of course in the infamous Panama Papers, which showed how Minister Konrad Mizzi and the Prime Minister's chief of staff Keith Schembri set up opaque and suspicious financial structures in Panama and New Zealand soon after being swept to power in 2013.

One set of issues concerns Maltese evading and avoiding taxes and possibly hiding ill-gotten gains. The issue remains very much an open can of worms and a number of magisterial inquiries are underway to establish exactly who did what.

The other set concerns Malta offering a platform for others to avoid and evade tax in their own jurisdictions, where Malta is being increasingly seen as aiding and abetting the theft of their public coffers.

Indeed, the latest Paradise Papers have not, on the surface, revealed anything illegal in Malta's respect.  Yes, celebrities and the world's rich by the dozens may have set up trust funds, management or holding companies in Malta but so far the practice remains above board, objectionable but above board.

The stories doing the rounds in several reputable newspapers are portraying Malta as a tax and offshore haven and some imply that there is some kind of illegality thriving on these isles as far as its taxation system. This is, however, far from the truth. 

Such international news does Malta's image as a financial centre of excellence with a robust regulatory regime no good at all, quite the opposite in fact. Malta had spent years carefully building that reputation, which is being called increasingly into question. 

It should be stressed that although it is widely disputed, Malta's tax imputation system is fully endorsed by the European Union and the OECD and it is perfectly legal and legitimate. So is the business of the payday loan billionaire who features in those articles, who is seen fleecing his customers and in return paying a very low rate of taxation by locating part of his corporate structure here in Malta.

There have been numerous efforts far and wide to force a change to this system employed by Malta, all of which have been unsuccessful for the very reason that there is nothing illegal about it - contentious in that it deprives other states of taxation revenue, but perfectly above board.

Still, legal or not, the issue is leaving a stain on Malta's reputation, which is rather unwarranted in this particular case.

Malta's tax imputation system has earned the country some quick bucks, but what could it cost us in the end? All that glitters, it may turn out, is not gold when it comes to attracting foreign funds. The money the country has made over the last couple of decades may not compensate for the reputational damage the country is incurring.