Offshore Guidebook | Real Estate Investor Magazine Offshore Guidebook 2014 | Page 17

including South Africa. For ta x purposes, an individual is normally regarded as being resident in Malta for a particular year if, in that year, his/her stay in Malta exceeds 183 days. There is no general inheritance tax system in Malta. However, upon the transfer or transmission (upon death) of real estate or shares in a company owning mainly real estate, a duty of 5% is payable and on marketable securities (mainly shares in Maltese companies), a duty of 2% is payable. Malta just launched its Individual Investor Programme citizenship programme, at a first-ofits-kind-for-Malta forum organised by Henley & Partners, who have also been selected by the Maltese government as Concessionaire of the Malta citizenship programme. Second passport Citizenship-by-investment programmes such as these come with the added benefit of a second passport, which opens up a two-way path for one’s income and, in addition, give you the ability to travel to a large number of other countries visa-free. Other benefits include the option to invest in real estate