Nationalist MP David Thake has asked to be submitted to an investigation by the Standards Commissioner to ensure that no ethical standards have been breached after a newspaper reported that he owes some €270,000 to the taxman.

Times of Malta reported on Thursday that a company solely owned by the MP – Vanilla Telecoms – has as an outstanding bill of €270,440. The Opposition MP is set to sign a repayment plan with the tax authorities. The unpaid taxes go back a number of years.

The MP has been in talks with the Inland Revenue Department to settle his dues. Times of Malta said €233,515 consist of outstanding VAT while the rest of the balance is interest and penalties.

He told Times of Malta that company owes the VAT because it had “always scrupulously declared every cent of its sales. Thake said the firm’s tax returns were always filed on time and there is “absolutely no allegation of any tax evasion on the part of the company”.

He also explained that the current amount due is €174,790. The rest has been deferred as part of the Covid-19 tax deferral scheme. 

He also said that the police had erroneously issued charges with regard to ECO taxes that have in fact been paid. The charges have since been withdrawn.

In a social media post, Thake said he has written to Standards Commissioner George Hyzler requesting that he investigate the case.

“Given the reporting of Times of Malta on my company’s (Vanilla Telecoms Ltd.) pending VAT repayments, I would like to formally request for you to investigate this case to ensure that no ethical standards have been breached,” the MP told the Standards Commissioner.

Thake said he remains “fully open to explaining my position and providing all the paperwork necessary.”

“I fully respect your Office which is why I would like to personally insist on an investigation to ensure that my company’s actions do not compromise my position as an MP.”

Thake is not the only MP with pending tax issues. PN Leader Bernard Grech had adjusted his declared income for 2016, 2017 and 2019, increasing his previously declared income. He had settled some €30,000 due to the taxman.

Former Parliamentary Secretary Rosianne Cutajar is currently being investigated by the tax authorities over an alleged brokerage fee related to a failed property deal involving Yorgen Fenech.

Fellow Labour MP Ian Castaldi Paris also owes some €300,000 in due tax after a tax audit found hundreds of thousands of euro in undeclared income. He has announced that he will not be contesting the next election.

 

Another test for Grech - PL

In a statement reacting to the Times of Malta report on David Thake, the Labour Party said this is another “test” for Bernard Grech.

It said Thake had pocketed VAT he had collected from clients.

“Over the past days Bernard Grech spoke about tax evasion and now he has a clear case of evasion before him, involving a member of his Parliamentary Group, if he truly believes in what he writes in his regular Facebook posts.”

The PL said Grech will always have a credibility problem given that he had personally evaded paying tax until he became PN Leader. “But he cannot accept the pathetic excuse given by one of his MPs, who is blaming Covid when it is clear from the news report that this was abusive behaviour on his part. The figures published show that this is unpaid tax on income of around half a million euro, over a span of time.”

The PL said the competent authorities must take this case seriously because no one is above the law, not even Opposition MPs.

 

Abela should declare his 2016 income – PN

In its own statement, the PN said it is clear that “Robert Abela has a personal interest in comparing two completely different cases: one about unexplained wealth and the other about deferred VAT dues.”

It said Abela wanted the party to take action against an MP who made use of a tax deferral scheme his own government had introduced. It noted that Thake has written to the Standards Commissioner to investigate the case.

“On the other hand, Abela wants a Labour MP to avoid the consquences of an investigation that found up to €1m in unexplained wealth.”

The PN said this was yet another case of a Nationalist MP who was erroneously charged by the police. He was accused of not having paid tax when he had in fact done so. At the same time, a Labour MP who failed to declare up to a million euro was “getting it easy.”

It said that Robert Abela, who “continues to defend criminals,” believes that there is a law for the gods and another for animals. “He wants small business owners to be accused of money laundering on small discrepancies in tax declarations, while anything goes for him and his friends.”

It said that, if he wanted to be credible, Robert Abela should start by declaring his income for 2016, something he has so far failed to do. “Perhaps he should also ensure that all his properties and boats are declared as they should be.”