Finance Parliamentary Secretary Jason Azzopardi said the government was ready to take what some may call controversial decisions regarding taxation, but which he would rather categorise as courageous, practical and common sense moves aimed at removing the anomalies which have been piling up over the years.
No further details were given on this in a report by the Malta Institute of Taxation (MIT) at the institute's graduation ceremony.
The Parliamentary Secretary noted that the MIT's Manual on Direct Taxation will be the first comprehensive textbook on taxation prepared in Malta for use by professionals. The manual will help students but, equally important, it will also constitute the authoritative guide on a complex subject for practitioners, the judiciary and the public.
Dr Azzopardi suggested that efforts should be made to explore the possibility of cooperation between the institute and the revenue departments to make the benefits of these studies more readily accessible to public officials, and he promised to help these efforts.
MIT president Renald Micallef told those present at the graduation ceremony that the next major step for the MIT, following the publication of its Manual on Direct Taxation before the end of 2009, will be the introduction of a Masters course in Taxation at the University of Malta. At the same time, the institute will be working on hosting the general assembly of the Confederation Fiscale Europeenne (CFE) in 2011.
While summarising the work done by the institute in the recent past in the academic and educational fields, Dr Micallef said that the proposed Masters degree in Taxation will further consolidate the standard, ability and already high reputation of Malta's professionals in the international field.
Referring to CFE's 2011 international event in Malta, Dr Micallef said: “This important international event is aimed at showcasing Malta as a modern and efficient financial centre to the hundreds of tax advisers expected in Malta from all over the continent. At the last count, the CFE represented 180,000 tax practitioners across Europe, with Malta being a proud member of this ever growing family.”