Announcements

Academy Documents

Please access the Students' Policies & Forms through this link. The following documents are all available in the link - Student Handbook, Student Code of Conduct,  Students' Privacy Notice, Deferral, Suspension, and Cancellation Policy, Assignment Extension Policy, Re-Sit Policy, Complaints Procedure Policy, Equality Policy and Student Disciplinary Policy.

Online Sessions Link

To connect to the online sessions of this module please click on this link . You will be asked to register your attendance if you are not already signed in into your Zoom account. You will also be asked for the password which is below.

Meeting ID: 870 7616 1364
Passcode: 615943

Make sure that you show with your name & surname as you have been registered for the study programme. This is very important for attendance purposes.

Lecture Schedule & Notes

Lecture notes will be available during the week following the respective lecture. Schedule dates are indicative and may change. All changes, if any, may be communicated via email, SMS or telephone calls.

Lecturer 

 Dr Gabriella Chircop

Lecture Summaries & Suggested Reading 

Lecture 1 - Introduction to Taxation - Tax Law Fundamentals

Following this session students will be learning about:

• Introduction to Maltese Tax Law and Human Rights;
• The Maltese Basis of Taxation - Including Domicile, Residence; The Tax Classification of Income versus Capital; Badges of Trade
• Deductions, Exemptions & Capital Allowances;
  • Tax on Employment Income;
  • Final Settlement System;
  • Fringe Benefits;
  • Social Security Contributions
• Tax Administration:
  • Tax Payment Deadlines;
  • Penalties Imposed for Non-Compliance
  • The Powers of the Commissioner for Revenue;
  • Assessments, Objections, Appeals

Core Reading List

• Cap. 123 of the Laws of Malta - The Income Tax Act
• Cap. 372 of the Laws of Malta - The Income Tax Management Act
• Robert Attard – Principles of Maltese Income Tax Law (2019)

Supplementary Reading List

• P. Baker "Taxation and the European Convention on Human Rights" British Tax Review, 2000.
• A. Borg Olivier "The Concept of Domicile in Tax Legislation with Special Reference to Maltese Law" University of Malta LL.D. Thesis 1997
  .

Lecture 2 - Fundamentals of Maltese Income Tax Law & Stamp Duty

Following this session students will be learning about:

• Taxation of Companies:
  • The Malta Tax Accounting System;
  • Taxation of Dividend Distributions including the Full Imputation System;
  • Tax Refunds
• Tax on Capital Gains;
• Property Transfers Tax;
• Double Tax Relief;
• Duty on Documents and Transfers;
• Taxation of Trusts, Foundations and Partnerships

Core Reading List

• Cap. 123 of the Laws of Malta - The Income Tax Act
• Cap. 372 of the Laws of Malta - The Income Tax Management Act
• Robert Attard – Principles of Maltese Income Tax Law (2019)

Supplementary Reading List

• S.L. 123.27 - Capital Gains Rules
• S.L. 364.06 - Duty on Documents and Transfers Rules

Lecture 3 - International Tax Law

Following this session students will be learning about:

• Malta’s double tax treaty network;
• The OECD Model Convention;
  • Focusing on the different articles of the Model
• The OECD Multilateral Instrument
• Introduction to Transfer Pricing;

Core Reading List

• Articles of the Model Convention with respect to taxes on income and on capital 2017
• Commentaries on the Articles of the Model Tax Convention
• S.L.123.183 - Multilateral Convention (Implementing Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) Order
• Baker, n.d. Principles of International Taxation

Lecture 4 - EU Law Impact on Maltese Tax Law

Following this session students will be learning about:

• Introduction to EU Law and the interaction with Maltese Income Tax Law
• Tax Transparency and Exchange of Information;
  • FATCA & CRS;
  • Country by Country Reporting;
  • DAC 6
  • DAC 7
• The Mutual Assistance Procedure;
• EU Direct Tax Directives:
  • The Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive;
  • The Parent-Subsidiary Directive;
  • Interest and Royalties Directive

Core Reading List

• S.L. 123.127 - Cooperation with other Jurisdictions on Tax Matters Regulations
• S. L. 123.156 - Exchange of Information (United States of America) (FATCA) Order
• Implementing Guidelines on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information
• S.L. 123.187 - European Anti-Tax Avoidance Directives Implementing Regulations
• The Mutual Agreement Procedure – Guidelines issued under the provisions of Article 96(2) of the Income Tax Act.
• Council Directive 2011/96/EU of 30 November 2011 on the common system of taxation applicable in the case of parent companies and subsidiaries of different Member States
• Council Directive 2003/49/EC of 3 June 2003 on a common system of taxation applicable to interest and royalty payments made between associated companies of different Member States

Lecture 5 - Principles of VAT

Following this session students will be learning about:

• Scope of VAT;
• Place of Supply Rules;
• VAT Exemptions;
• Input Tax;
• VAT Registration Requirements;
• VAT Compliance and Reporting;
• Liability of Directors

Core Reading List

• Cap. 406 of the Laws of Malta - The Value Added Tax Act
• Council Directive 2006/112/EC of 28 November 2006 on the common system of value added tax
• Schenk, A. and Oldman, O., 2007. Value Added Tax. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Supplementary Reading List

• Commissioner for Revenue Guidelines to Certain VAT Procedures - Place of Supply of Services

Methods of Assessment

2 out of a choice of 4 assignment titles - 100% weighting

Assignment

You have to choose 2 out of the 4 questions which are available in the Assignment Submission form below. Assignment should be submitted by not later than Thursday 11 May 2023. The assignment has to be submitted together with the Assignment Submission Form. Please indicate the questions which you have addressed in the Assignment Submission form.

Assignment Submission Form

If you need information on how to plan, draft and submit your assignment follow the 21 Academy presentation on Writing and Submitting your Assignment.

We are also making the 21 Academy's Assignments Rubric available for your guidance. This is a performance-based assessment tool. Tutors will use the rubric to assist them to allocate scoring while it allows students to understand what is required in the assignment and how it will be graded. For referencing purposes, as much as possible please use the Oscola Referencing Guide.

Submitting Assignment - Turnitin

The Academy will notify you that assignment questions are available through an email. Through another email sent to you by turnitin (probably on the same day) you will be notified that you have been added to a "class" where you may upload your assignment/s. Assignments should be submitted by not later than 23:59hrs of the assignment submission deadline shown on the Assignment Submission form and/or the "class".

At 21 Academy you can submit more than one draft of your assignment before the submission final deadline. The last version left uploaded at the submission deadline will be considered to be your final submission paper and will be the one which will be assessed. Make sure that your final submission does not go beyond 20% similarity when including direct quotations (the sentences in-between quotes).

Follow this very short video to understand how to submit your assignment through turnitin - submitting a paper

To understand the similarity report generated by turnitin follow this 1 minute video - understanding the similarity report

Oscola Referencing Guide

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