The Maltese Tax Authorities issued guidelines in connection with the income tax, VAT and duty on documents implications arising from transactions or arrangements involving DLT assets.

 

The following is a list of definitions included in the guidelines:

 

Taxation

The general income tax principles contained in the Income Tax Act apply to transactions involving DLT assets.  The guidelines serve to provide clarifications regarding the income tax treatment of a number of transactions or arrangements involving DLT assets.

The following is a summary of the tax treatment of transactions involving DLT Assets:

 

The following is a summary of the income tax treatment of transactions in coins:

 

Coins fall outside scope of Article 5 of the Income Tax Act and therefore they are not considered to give rise to any capital gain for income tax purposes.

 

The following summarises the tax treatment for the return on financial tokens:

 

The following outlines the tax treatment arising from the transfers of financial and utility tokens:

 

The distinction between trading income and non-trading income may not always be evident.  It may therefore be necessary to refer to the badges of trade to determine whether the income received falls within the definition of trading income or not.  Such determination is crucial to assess the tax treatment of transferred tokens.

The following portrays the tax treatment applicable for initial offerings:

 

Value Added Tax (VAT)

The general VAT principles applicable to taxable events also apply to transactions or arrangements involving DLT assets.  Maltese VAT rules apply only if the place of supply of a transaction or arrangement is deemed to be Malta.  Furthermore, the chargeable event would only arise where a supply of service is made for a consideration by a taxable person acting as such and there is a direct link between the consideration payable and the supply made and where there is reciprocal performance between the suppliers and the recipient of the service.

 

The following is a general overview of the VAT treatment of transactions involving DLT assets:

 

If a token contains features of both a financial and a utility token (also referred to as a hybrid token),  then the VAT treatment depends on the use of such token.  A hybrid token used as a utility token then it is to be treated as such, while if in another occasion the same token is used as a coin, then it needs to be treated as such.

 

When treated as a voucher, the consideration paid for a utility token shall be deemed to be gross of VAT due.  Another important issue to determine is when the token is subject to VAT:

 

The guidelines provide clarification as to whether initial offerings are subject to VAT or not:

 

In case of electronically supplied services rendered to non-taxable persons established in other Member States, the supplier may opt to register and account for VAT through the Mini-One-Stop-Shop system (MOSS) to facilitate the administration for the payment of the VAT within the EU.

 

Duty on Documents and Transfers Act (DDTA)

The following is a summary of the DDTA implications arising with respect to transactions involving DLT assets: