After more than 7 years of successful work in the southernmost country of the European Union, the still booming Malta, we are expanding our consulting activities. The demand for serious, German and English speaking legal, tax and business consulting for companies and private clients has increased.

Therefore, we are looking for young lawyers, experienced in English, who have a solid basic ...

The so-called patent box scheme, enshrined in Article 12 (1) (v) of the Malta Income Tax Act, had been closed on 3rd June 2016 for new applications. This patent box was a preferential tax regime for intellectual property (IP) royalties and similar income derived from patents in respect of inventions, copyright and trademarks, exempting those from tax completely.

For “old” registrations ...

A new Gaming Bill will be tabled in the Malta Parliament in the next weeks. Government thus wants to ensure that the Maltese jurisdiction provides a safe and efficiently regulated environment where the Gaming industry can further develop and innovate. The new legislation is expected to help the industry to grow by another 4 per cent.

Key features of the New ...

Up until recently, the Scottish Limited Partnership (SLP) presented an option for individuals interested in forming a corporate structure being a legal entity of its own and allowing the ultimate owners a level of confidentiality at the same time.

An SLP must have at least one general partner, who is responsible for management, debts and other obligations and at least one ...

The element of skill and knowledge involved in fantasy sports, such an activity should be differentiated from games of chance in terms of licensing and regulation.

This relates specifically to fantasy sports where players choose virtual representations of real-life athletes, where the value and points attributed to an athlete reflect the athletes’ performance in actual sporting events, and where the outcome ...

What has a trusted platform for international intellectual property (IP) to offer? Well, it is all about protecting, managing and commercialising ideas and innovations across the whole IP value chain. In this respect Malta offers very interesting opportunities for companies and individuals to exploit their IP assets.

Maximising IP Asset Value

Whether referring to patents, trademarks, copyrights or designs, the common character ...

The Maltese property market will become more flexible since properties owned by more than one owner can now finally be sold by majority decision.

A recent amendment to the Civil Code had come into effect as of 1st April 2016. It allows the majority of owners in a shared property to be able to decide to sell the property by requesting ...

Non-EU nationals and their dependents may now reside, settle or stay indefinitely in Malta subject to the conditions of the new Malta Residence and Visa (MRV) Programme, which was officially launched on 22nd March 2016 in Shanghai.

Universal Schengen Visa

This residence scheme offers its beneficiary and dependents the possibility of cross-border movements via a universal Schengen Visa. This means that such ...

Gross Domestic Product in real terms went up by 6.3 per cent in 2015, making the Maltese economy one of the best performers in the EU, official figures issued on 8th March show.

GDP in 2015 amounted to €8,796.5 million, an increase of €712.3 million or 8.8 per cent (nominal) when compared to 2014.

Positive Outlook of Rating Agency

Ratings agency Standard and ...

With improved connectivity and more promotional initiatives from the Maltese side, the German-speaking market has the potential to grow further in the coming years. This relates not only to tourism, but to business in general.

Attractive flight offers by Air Malta and Ryanair, to name just two airlines, and specific advertising campaigns are expected to provide additional exposure for the Maltese ...

In 2016 a general regulatory overhaul is planned to take shape with the development of a new Gaming Act, creating a coherent governance and regulatory framework for all forms of gaming licensed in Malta.

More coherence and performance of both the industry and the jurisdiction are the main aims to be achieved by the new legislation. The Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) ...

Attracting consumers is the most important consideration for gaming operators, whether it is through traditional or digital means of advertising, or via inducements and bonuses. In light of this, the proper regulation of advertising of gaming services is of high importance.

Since marketing and advertising are a critical part of any gaming service and consumers are faced with a wide array ...

Financial services are one of the important sectors of the Maltese industry. Beyond the firms that cater to the local market many companies registered and operating from Malta mainly address foreign customers.

When being licensed in Malta companies can use the EU passport to use their license in other jurisdictions, obviously depending on the level of activities that they wish to ...

With currently around 280 online gaming operators, licensed by the Malta Gaming Authority, and over 500 licenses issued Malta has become a popular home to around 10 per cent of the global remote gaming market.

What makes Malta so attractive for I-Gaming?

It is indeed a combination of a lot of factors that results in attracting more and more businesses in the ...

The remote gaming industry has continued to grow in Malta in 2015. During the first six months of the past year 2015 a number of 43 new remote gaming licences were issued by the Malta Gaming Authority; during the same time the regulator terminated 22 licences and suspended a total of 8 licences.

Distribution of Licences by Class Type

The picture by ...

As a leading German Law Firm, based in Malta, Kresse International has become a member of Finance Malta, a public-private initiative set up to promote Malta’s international business and financial centre.

The services of Kresse International focus on German speaking clients using Malta as a hub for their international business. Thus company set-ups, corporate services, tax compliance as well as Malta ...

At short term notice a slow-down for the world economy in 2016/2017 is forecasted by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development). The increasing number of geopolitical risks plays a major role, but so do climate change, the refugee crisis and growing nationalism. The World Bank warns of a decade of slow growth in the emerging markets with some ...

During 2016 the Maltese economy is expected to grow by 3.6 % (after 5.3 % in 2015). The rate of inflation is projected to increase to 1.5 % in the running year. Thus the Maltese Islands remain a stable and attractive economic hub in the Mediterranean with sound growth perspectives.

Companies and Enterprise

• Registration fees for companies having a share capital of ...