The Agreement on Double Taxation Relief on Income between the Republic of Finland and Malta was signed on 30th October 2000. It came into force on 30th December 2001 through L.N. 34 of 2002. The Agreement provides for distributive rules allocating taxing rights among the two contracting states. It also sets a cap on the tax withheld on dividends at source, however not in relation to interest income and royalties. Further, the Agreement provides for information exchange on the basis of the OECD Model Tax Convention.
The Double Tax Agreement underlines the incentives provided by Maltese domestic legislation to foreign companies and contributes to a system conducive to a favourable business climate. This is exploited in business and investment dealings by Scandinavian interests using Malta as a base for the Mediterranean region. Malta offers a unique value proposition as an EU Member State in the centre of the Mediterranean, with long standing close political, trade and social relations to Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.
A Scandinavian Business Forum was formed in Malta with the intention to raise awareness of business potential and investment opportunities in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. In collaboration with FinanceMalta, the Business Forum organised a specialised event in May 2011. Dr Jean Philippe Chetcuti, Managing Partner at Chetcuti Cauchi, was one of the Maltese financial services practitioners who met the delegation of Swedish business persons that visited Malta. The event was hosted at the Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry in Valletta.
In June 2011 the Chairwoman of the Finland Trade Centre in Milan (FINPRO) Marjaana Karjalainen was invited to Malta by the Scandinavian Business Forum Malta. Ms Karjalainen met with officials from the IT Ministry, Malta Enterprise, Finance Malta, Malta Communications Authority and other organizations from the local media/telecom sector with a view to understand better the local market trends and potential partnering opportunities between Maltese and Finnish companies. She is also currently working on client interface with Finnish software, telecom and digital media companies interested in the Western European and Northern African markets.
Malta has a Maltese Consulate in Helsinki and Finland is represented in Malta by the Finland Consulate in Sliema.
