Aimed at positioning Malta as a creativity hub within the Mediterranean region, a draft national strategy for the creative industry was launched in Malta.
Targeting the cultural and creative industries, the strategy has four main aims:
- Capitalising on new global developments of the creative economy in Malta;
- Investing in creativity-oriented educational institutions and initiatives;
- Create initiatives for creative individuals;
- Increase access to international markets.
In attaining these goals, the strategy foresees a shift of policy focus with an expected increase in the state budget for initiatives addressing the creative industry. This shall be reinforced by the access that Malta provides to the European Union programmes that target the creative industry.
The strategy addresses also a central part of the creative economy, that is, Intellectual Property. While Malta has already introduced a tax exemption of royalties from Malta owned IP, the strategy places patents and copyrights as an essential safeguard to inventors guaranteeing an adequate rate of return and continued investment.
From a fiscal point of view, in addition to the tax exemption for royalties, Malta provides also tax rebated for private cultural education, a flat income tax rate for the gaming industry executives, tax incentives for re-domiciling of IP and a tax-incentive for stimulation of Valletta as a hub of creative activity. In the next two years, Malta will be supplementing this with the development of an income averaging mechanism for articles; a tax exemption on grants and awards; and incentivizing of private investment in the cultural and creative industries.
