Local firms look beyond Malta to address shortage of accountants

A shortage of staff in Malta’s accountancy sector is among the greatest challenge to be faced by the industry locally, with the Malta Institute of Accountants (MIA) confirming that firms are turning to foreign workers to plug the gap.

Indeed, it is not just hospitality, catering and entertainment sectors that are facing an acute shortage. Just last week, Co-CEO at CC Finance Group, Nick Calamatta, also noted that Malta’s financial services and software development sectors are facing a “severe” worker shortage.

In comments made to Malta’s national broadcaster, MIA CEO Maria Cauchi told TVM that the issue of global tax reform is also a pending challenge.

Malta is facing big shake-ups to its tax regime from two angles. On the international stage, there is an OECD push for a global minimum multinational corporate tax rate of 15 per cent, a big increase from the effective five per cent corporate tax foreign companies pay in Malta. The rule, in its current form, will only impact companies with revenues exceeding €750 million, meaning it would not impact the majority of foreign companies set up in the jurisdiction.

Secondly, Finance Minister Clyde Caruana announced that Malta will have a new corporate tax regime in place by 2025, which will move away from the current imputation system. The Labour Party now in Government also promised to reduce the local corporate tax rate of 35 per cent, among the highest in Europe.