Top 5% of taxpayers responsible for one-third of all income tax paid in Malta

Persons paying the top 35 per cent tax rate generate one-third of all income tax collected in Malta, despite making up just five per cent of the total tax-paying population.

Data tabled by Finance Minister Clyde Caruana in Parliament last week shows that the state’s revenues from tax on income are notably top-heavy: each of the 13,582 individuals taxed at Malta’s top rate pay an average of €26,000 in annual tax.

More than four times as many – 60,492 – pay no income tax at all, since they make under €9,100 per year.

Meanwhile, another 44,040 are on the 15 per cent tax band, and collectively generate €17.4 million. This rate is applicable for those on yearly incomes between €9,101 and €14,500.

This means that 37.8 per cent of workers – those on the zero and 15 per cent bands – are responsible for just 1.7 per cent of all income taxes generated.

Those on the middle 25 per cent tax band make up the majority of both taxpayers and amount paid, with 158,147 persons (57 per cent of all workers) generating €666 million (64 per cent of the total) between them.

Minister Caruana tabled the data, which refers to 2022, in response to a parliamentary question posed by Ivan Castillo, the Opposition Spokesperson for Social Dialogue and the Cost of Living.