70s may bring back the spring in your step

Feelings of well-being increase in the seventh decade of life, the longest-running study following the progress of people from birth has shown. Researchers who quizzed more than 3,000 participants found that approaching 70 can put a spring in your step. Aged 60 to 64, the volunteers were tested on a range of mental well-being measures including feeling cheerful, confident, optimistic, useful and relaxed. When they were asked the same questions again at age 69, there was an improvement in all14 categories that made up the well-being scale. This was despite most of the group experiencing at least one chronic disease including arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure. Mai Stafford, from the Medical Research Council Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at University College London, said: "What we've found is that levels of well-being increased during people's 60s. "We found that one in five experienced a substantial increase in well-being later on in life, although we also found a smaller group who experienced a substantial decline." One of the study's aims is to look at how individuals change over time in order to pinpoint common experiences that make us happy. Two 70th birthday...

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Maltese domicile subject to tax on worldwide income; no double taxation agreement with Panama

Maltese domicile, that is people whose permanent residence is in Malta, are required to pay tax in Malta on their worldwide income, according to the Tax Income Act.

This essentially means that Minister Konrad Mizzi is required to pay tax on foreign earnings. However the situation can get a little tricky when his company is registered in a country that is under no obligation to divulge information to Maltese authorities.

Controversy emerged when it came to light that Dr Mizzi has set up a trust in New Zealand which owns shares in a company registered in Panama. He announced the trust himself, however that Panamanian company was then revealed by blogger and Malta Independent columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia. It later emerged on the blogger's site that the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff also owns a company in Panama. Dr Mizzi has since said that he will close down the Panama company.

Questions were raised as to why the Minister chose to set up company in Panama, considering that it has been blacklisted by the EU, was placed on a 'grey list' by the OECD and is generally known for its financial secrecy, holding companies which evade tax and launder money.

Panama is known as a non-cooperative jurisdiction, meaning that it refused to have double taxation agreements with any other countries. Over the last few years, in an attempt to improve its international standing it has opened up such agreements with countries such as the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the USA.

The scope of a double taxation agreement is the exchange of financial information between national authorities upon request. Within the EU and the European Economic Area, such financial information is slowly starting to become automatically shared.

Malta and Panama have no double taxation agreement, meaning that Panama is under no obligation to divulge any financial information to Maltese authorities, and vice-versa. Even if it were under obligation to divulge such information, Panama corporations are under no obligation to prepare annual financial statements.

They are also under no obligation to audit its financial statements. These points have been advertised heavily on a number of 'Offshore Service Providers,' highlighting the high levels of secrecy surrounding financial operations.

Not being required to prepare annual financial statements or auditing of those financial statements effectively mean that even if a company registered in Panama had to be investigated, the documents found/provided would have to be taken at face-value. There would be no verification method since the company itself is not legally obliged to prepare accurate documentation.

Tax experts were contacted by this newsroom for their interpretation of events, however chose not to comment in light of the controversy surrounding Minister Mizzi.

Konrad Mizzi invited Tax Commissioner to investigate

Minister Mizzi has publically invited Tax Commissioner Marvin Gaerty to audit him. Asked by this newsroom as to whether he will be taking up the offer, Mr Gaerty replied: "..kindly be informed that the Inland Revenue Department may not divulge any information in terms of the Income Tax Acts."

Even if the Commissioner were to attempt to investigate, this would not be possible because Panama is under no obligation to pass along information, that it probably has no way of acquiring in the first place. A quick look at the secrecy laws in Panama reveal as such, therefore this request by Minister Mizzi cannot be more than attempt to save-face, and maintain that he has not actually done anything illegal.

Claims that the company and trust have no assets, liabilities or bank accounts

Companies and trusts such as Minister Mizzi's are set up to manage significant levels of wealth. Dr Mizzi has maintained, through providing documentation, that the company holds no assets, liabilities or bank accounts.

One must keep in mind that owning a company requires compliance costs, such as paying directors and shareholders. It therefore stands to reason that the company and trust was not set up in order manage the family's property in the UK, but that he is expecting to earn significant income/assets in the future.

Mrs Caruana Galizia has also revealed Mr Schembri holds a company in Panama, which was acquired on the same day as Dr Mizzi's. The Nationalist Party has since focused attention to this fact, which prompted Mr Schembri to threaten libel proceedings against the PN and issue a statement. In his statement, Mr Schembri did not make reference to allegations of his Panama company once, but spoke about how his appointed financial advisers have taken care of such matters, and that he reserves the right to take legal action against those attempting to "tarnish" his reputation.

The Malta Independent has sent questions to Mr Schembri, however 48 hours later there has been no acknowledgment or response.

When one takes into consideration the financial secrecy surrounding Panama, its reputation for tax evasion, the level of public scrutiny a government minister is subject to and the costs associated with maintaining offshore companies and trusts, the underlying question here remains: why Panama? Especially in the light of Dr Mizzi claiming he has been transparent and honest in all of his dealings.

 

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Farmer Gianni Attard headed to Constitutional Court over breach of human rights

Later in March, Gozitan farmer Gianni Attard will appear in front of a Constitutional Court as he is claiming breach of fundamental human rights.

The Malta Independent went to visit the farm in Gharb and spoke to Mr Attard who painfully explained what had happened to his sheep on November of 2012.

"In the morning, at around 9:30am, I was walking in Rabat when suddenly a police car stopped by and ordered me to come inside. We then headed for the police station and they suddenly informed me that they were going to kill my sheep."

Mr Attard claims he was under lock-up till 4pm of that same day. Once back to his farm next to the Chapel of San Dimitri in Gharb, Gianni Attard found almost half of his sheep stock gone.

Indicating the area which was usually occupied by the culled sheep, Mr Attard said that all he saw was blood stains on the wall.

No less than 216 sheep were killed. According to Mr Attard, most of the killed sheep were pregnant and their worth could some up to some €520,000.

Following this event, Gianni Attard's lawyers have presented the case to appear in front of the Constitutional Court. They told this newsroom that their case is based on the breach of fundamental human rights, including illegal arrest.

Gianni Attard insists that the claim that the court has ordered the execution of the rest of the sheep is not true.

The Veterinary Department has said that the sheep had to be killed because the test could only be acquired once the animal is put down. Also, it appears that the same department deems every animal which is not registered as sick because its roots are not traced.

It appears that, according to results of samples by the Veterinary Services Department, none of the 216 sheep culled in 2012 were actually sick. In court, veterinary surgeon Frank Grima had testified that the sample from brain stems resulted negative to Mad Cow Disease.

Gianni Attard's farm in Gharb is always guarded by two police officers 24 hours a day seven days a week. He said they were collectively being paid more than €500 per day. It is estimated that the Maltese taxpayers have already paid more than €600,000 for three years of constant surveillance.

Sunday's speech by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat also focused on the controversial sheep-culling case of farmer Gianni Attard, saying that it has been made known that Mr Attard never met or spoke with Dr Muscat, meaning that the Prime Minister could have never promised anything to the farmer. This shows how Dr Busuttil has been caught out in a lie, he said.

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Man jailed 3 years after mobile phones linked him to €25,000 burglary from elderly couple’s home

A burglar who stole over €25,000 from an elderly couple's Pieta home was caught after signals from his mobile phone placed him at the scene of the crime, a court has heard. The man was also recognized from a picture taken by a neighbour on her mobile phone.

Johan Pace, 39, was charged with aggravated theft, wilful damage to property, and relapsing in connection with the February 2008 burglary.

Magistrate Donatella Frendo Dimech heard how police had been warned about the burglary by a neighbour of the couple.

Police Inspector Mario Tonna told the court that the couple's front door had been "reduced to splinters."

The neighbour told the police that she had seen a suspicious-looking man lurking around the house some days before the burglary. She spotted him again on the day of the break-in. He was sitting on a bench, looking around holding his mobile phone.

Around 15 minutes later she heard loud banging noises and saw the man breaking the couple's front door in.

She said the man was wearing sunglasses and a beanie – these were later found in the car belonging to the accused.

Court experts said signals from the accused's mobile phone had been registered on two cell towers close to the scene of the crime from 9:18am to 10:04am that morning.

A defence witness, the mother of the accused's baby, said Mr Pace would occasionaly visit a nearby public garden with the infant. But the court noted that the woman had not mentioned this fact to the police during the investigation and that the accused himself had not been able to provide an explanation as to his presence in the area, during his interrogation by the police.

Magistrate Frendo Dimech remarked that someone who held his liberty and innocence dear would not have remained silent when faced by false and unjust accusations. The mother's testimony was deemed not credible by the court.

The accused was found guilty of all charges and was handed a three-year prison sentence. He was also ordered to repay the €25,623 he had stolen.

The court also imposed a restraining order, preventing Pace from approaching the elderly couple's and neighbour's families for three years after his release from prison. 

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Elderly people at SVPR evacuated as heater catches fire

Elderly people at St Vincent de Paul home for the elderly were evacuated this morning after a heater caught fire.

The blaze was put out within seconds, the Department of Information said, and the residents were never in any danger.

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Elderly at St Vincent de Paul evacuated after small fire

No elderly were injured when one of the heating blowers in a bathroom at a hall in St Vincent de Paul caught fire at 7.15am, the government said. It said in a statement the elderly were evacuated as a precaution even though they were not in any danger. Although this was a minor incident, it said, all preventive measures were taken by the administration and workers and the Civil Protection Department was called for assistance. The fire was controlled in seconds by hospital staff before the arrival of the CPD. Only minor damage was reported. A detailed inspection was carried out by CPD officials to ensure that the place was safe, it said.

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Watch: Europe needs new public investment - Labour MEP Alfred Sant

Former Prime Minister Alfred Sant told the European Parliament that new national public investments in EU state members will stimulate national and Europe-wide private investments. Dr Sant said that public investment is more effective when deployed at national level, when it does not have to depend on the delays of bureaucracy. "If we can find ways and means of promoting national public investment, this will in turn stimulate national and Europe-wide private investment. Would this breach the current rules of the Stability and Growth Pact? Possibly yes. Should we care? In my view no... so long as we make sure that added public spending on a national basis is really being dedicated to investment, not recurrent outlays."

Dr Sant made this statement during the "Joint debate European Semester 2016 at the European Parliament in Brussels." The plenary debate is based on reports by the EP's economic (ECON committee), social affairs (employment committee) and internal market committees on the general outlook for the EU, spelled out in the Commission's Annual Growth Survey.

The Maltese MEP said the real problem of current economic performance in Europe is investment. There is not enough of it. So growth is limited. The improvement, indeed the preservation, of social conditions for workers in employment, young people looking for a job, working families and pensioners is not in sight. These people claim that Europe is failing them. The social compact on which it was established is no longer there. It is not populist to agree with those who make such claims, for they are right.

"The problem is not about agreeing or disagreeing with them.The problem is how to get economic growth back on track so that fulltime, secure jobs are generated for young people...so that the old are not made to fear for their pensions.

We do not need complex technocratic formulae to solve this problem. We just need a political will to think outside the box into which we have squared, supposedly in order to satisfy the Stability and Growth Pact.  We need simple decisive action that goes to the root of the problem: investment. Public and private investment. The record shows that private investment follows on public investment. Not the other way round. Public investment has been lagging. The Juncker Fund, worthwhile though it is, cannot cover the problem." said Dr Sant.

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