Living in Malta and playing online Poker tax free?

[dumposa]

Hey there,
I want to ask if some of you know if its true that online poker is tax free Malta if you make substanial money with it?( as eu foreigner) There are some conflicting things I read about so maybe some of you know for sure. If it´s not the case, would be able to use the non dom tax on remittance basis for it?

Any advise would be great

Thank you!

 

[troubled soul]

"Only if domiciled in Malta or if the income is remitted to Malta."

Do not remit money to Malta. There will be no problem.

Not only in Malta there are ton of country which does not levy tax on foreign income. Here is the thread for that

List of Foreign source income tax free country for Expat

Angola Anguilla Belize Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Botswana British Virgin Islands Costa Rica Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Eswatini Georgia Guatemala Guinea-Bissau Hong Kong Lebanon Libya Macau...

www.offshorecorptalk.com

 

[PhantomOf ThePits]

Hey there,
I want to ask if some of you know if its true that online poker is tax free Malta if you make substanial money with it?( as eu foreigner) There are some conflicting things I read about so maybe some of you know for sure. If it´s not the case, would be able to use the non dom tax on remittance basis for it?

Any advise would be great

Thank you!

Hello,

if you are NonDom on Malta and do not remit the money (meaning transfer to Malta bank account, pay your rent on Malta, pay with the credit card on Malta from the income) its considered foreign.

However, the problem with playing online poker while being physically present on Malta (traders for example have the same issue), is that it may be considered Malta generated income.

If that is the case, you'd need to pay normal Maltese income taxes.

Article 4(1) of the ITA:
The remittance basis of taxation applies to persons who are either not domiciled or not ordinarily resident in Malta.
In this respect, it means that income tax (charged at residential progressive rates) would be charged on:

(a) any chargeable gains arising in Malta, regardless of where it is received; and

(b) any income as is regarded as arising in Malta, regardless of where it is received; and

(c) any income arising outside Malta which is remitted to or received in Malta.


So, the number b) may be an issue for you while you play poker being physically present in Malta as they could consider you generate it in Malta.

Sure, lots of people may do it and also trade while being physically on Malta, but as far as my understanding goes, you may run into an issue.

So, when you play/trade outside of Malta it is generated outside.
But as a ordinary resident you'd in theory should be on Malta with center of life or the 'infamous 183 days rule'.

Malta has some special residency programs where you would NOT need to be present in Malta, but they charge you like 15k EUR/year for that.
Depending on how much money you make it may be interesting for you.


But please check it with a qualified Maltese tax advisor to get their opinion.

 

[uplana]

Malta has some special residency programs where you would NOT need to be present in Malta, but they charge you like 15k EUR/year for that.

more info please ?

 

[PhantomOf ThePits]

more info please ?

I dont know if 'allowed' to paste a link but check for example here (please delete if not OK):

Malta Residence Programmes | Chetcuti Cauchi Advocates Malta Law Firm

By investing in Malta Residence Programmes individuals and families can attain residency status and relocate to Malta. Amongst the programmes, the Malta Ordinary Residence Scheme gives EU/EEA nationals the right to transfer their tax residence to a high quality and safe jurisdiction such as Malta.

www.ccmalta.com

I have nothing to do with the company -- they just have good summaries.



You can also google for example for 'Residence Programm Malta' or 'HNWI Residence Malta'

With these residence programs, some for EU citizen, some for NonEU, you either need to rent a flat (like 8,750 EUR min/YEAR) or buy property (220k ish EUR+ -- depending if EU or NON-EU citizen).

Then there are 0 days requirements of being physically present on Malta and to my best knowledge you'll get a TRC.

But, the requirements are that you are NOT more than 183 days in another country where eventually you can create Nexus.

So, for people who are nomadic or who do not create strong substance in other countries, it could be an interesting option.

 

[dumposa]

"Only if domiciled in Malta or if the income is remitted to Malta."

Do not remit money to Malta. There will be no problem.

Not only in Malta there are ton of country which does not levy tax on foreign income. Here is the thread for that

List of Foreign source income tax free country for Expat

Angola Anguilla Belize Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Botswana British Virgin Islands Costa Rica Democratic Republic of the Congo Djibouti Eswatini Georgia Guatemala Guinea-Bissau Hong Kong Lebanon Libya Macau...

www.offshorecorptalk.com

Thank you for the replies so far quys. Would it not be weird if you don´t remit anything if you don´t have another major source of income? So I guess you should remit at least something.

Hello,

if you are NonDom on Malta and do not remit the money (meaning transfer to Malta bank account, pay your rent on Malta, pay with the credit card on Malta from the income) its considered foreign.

However, the problem with playing online poker while being physically present on Malta (traders for example have the same issue), is that it may be considered Malta generated income.

If that is the case, you'd need to pay normal Maltese income taxes.

Article 4(1) of the ITA:
The remittance basis of taxation applies to persons who are either not domiciled or not ordinarily resident in Malta.
In this respect, it means that income tax (charged at residential progressive rates) would be charged on:

(a) any chargeable gains arising in Malta, regardless of where it is received; and

(b) any income as is regarded as arising in Malta, regardless of where it is received; and

(c) any income arising outside Malta which is remitted to or received in Malta.


So, the number b) may be an issue for you while you play poker being physically present in Malta as they could consider you generate it in Malta.

Sure, lots of people may do it and also trade while being physically on Malta, but as far as my understanding goes, you may run into an issue.

So, when you play/trade outside of Malta it is generated outside.
But as a ordinary resident you'd in theory should be on Malta with center of life or the 'infamous 183 days rule'.

Malta has some special residency programs where you would NOT need to be present in Malta, but they charge you like 15k EUR/year for that.
Depending on how much money you make it may be interesting for you.


But please check it with a qualified Maltese tax advisor to get their opinion.

Thank you for clearing it up. I guess being outside of Malta is not a great option as you would need to be somewhere else and become resident there. Is building a company a better option for poker ?

 

[dash80]

Hey there,
I want to ask if some of you know if its true that online poker is tax free Malta if you make substanial money with it?( as eu foreigner) There are some conflicting things I read about so maybe some of you know for sure. If it´s not the case, would be able to use the non dom tax on remittance basis for it?

Any advise would be great

Thank you!

hello. im in a very similar situation and have the same concerns

are you already in malta?