CBA profits from Malta tax haven
· by: Richard Gluyas, Banking
· From: The Australian
· November 16, 2009
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/cba-profits-from-malta-tax-haven/story-e6frg8zx-1225797981283
COMMONWEALTH Bank is reaping the rewards of its "post-box" banking operation in low-tax Malta, booking a $55 million benefit last financial year from lower offshore tax rates.
The benefit was almost double its nearest big four rival, suggesting that the structure set up by CBA in the Mediterranean island nation is generating tens of millions of dollars in tax benefits.
Malta is no longer regarded by the Australian Taxation Office as a tax haven, but was blacklisted as such earlier this year in proposed US legislation that was co-sponsored by Barack Obama when he was a senator.
The CBA holding company Newport, which has a $5 billion balance sheet, is domiciled in Malta. Newport, in turn, owns CommBank Europe, which has held a Maltese banking licence since 2005, employing a...