Joseph Caruana to replace Marvin Gaerty as Commissioner for Revenue

The Public Service Commission has announced that Marvin Gaerty will step down as Commissioner for Revenue after nearly 10 years of service. He will be replaced by Joseph Caruana, who is currently a Permanent Secretary within the Ministry for Transport, Infrastructure and Capital Projects.

Mr Caruana has also served as Permanent Secretary within various ministries, including the Ministry for Education and Ministry for Finance.

His nomination was put forward by Minister Caruana and Principal Permanent Secretary Mario Cutajar and was accepted by the Public Service Commission.

Mr Gaerty asked to resign from his post in a letter to Minister for Finance and Employment Clyde Caruana.

Mr Caruana is now the Designate Commissioner for Tax, and will take the reins from 1st February, allowing time for a handover.

From February, Mr Gaerty wll be leading a consultative working group on taxation within the Ministry for Finance.

Principal Secretary Cutajar has meanwhile appointed Johan Galea to take over from Mr Caruana as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry for Transport from 1st February.

Mr Galea has been a Permanent Secretary since 2016, serving within the Ministry for Justice.

Mr Gaerty’s departure comes as the Government is making renewed efforts to collect all the taxes it is owned, which run to some €5 billion.

Issues with taxation were also a key point mentioned by the Financial Action Task Force as a reason for Maltas greylisting.

In June, FATF president Marcus Pleyer said, "The deficiencies were in the area of beneficial ownership transparency and in the area of financial intelligence, especially when it comes to tax crimes."

Mr Caruana's brother, Edward, is currently facing corruption charges in relation to his position at the Ministry for Education under Minister Evarist Bartolo, of whom he was a canvasser.

Once the story broke, Mr Caruana was transferred away from the Education Ministry and into the Finance Ministry.

Mr Gaerty is also no stranger to scandal, being questioned by police over possible trading in influence involving Yorgen Fenech, who stands accused of conspiring to murder Daphne Caruana Galizia.