The Ministry for Finance welcomes the latest taxation data published by Eurostat which shows that, in 2018, Malta ranked amongst the countries with the lowest tax burden in the EU. Malta was also one of the eight countries which recorded an annual decrease in the tax burden.Indeed, the tax burden in Malta measured by the tax-to-GDP ratio, meaning the sum of taxes and net social contributions as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product, decreased from 32.9 per cent in 2017 to 32.7 per cent in 2018. In both the EU and Euro Area, the average tax burden increased.As a result, Malta ranked as the country with the sixth lowest tax burden in the EU. Malta’s tax-to-GDP ratio was 7.6 percentage points lower than the EU average.Minister for Finance Edward Scicluna commented: “From the very start of our first legislature, we promised families that we will be reducing the tax burden especially on labour. For this purpose, we introduced the ‘making work pay’ budget initiatives whereby, amongst other measures, we implemented measures which reduced the tax on income, year after year. These measures have been a success in boosting the labour market participation rates, increasing the take-home pay and, most of all, in reducing the tax burden on families as shown by today’s Eurostat news release.”Source: PRESS RELEASE BY THE MINISTRY FOR FINANCE
