Prime Minister Robert Abela is the only cabinet member who has failed to openly state what was his income last year in his annual asset filings.
The ministerial code of ethics obliges cabinet members to list their property holdings, bank deposits, investments and income for the previous year.
Ministers, including the prime minister, are obliged to file their asset declaration with the cabinet secretary by no later than March every year. Abela’s declaration for 2020 was filed this April, one month late.
All cabinet members provided an overview of their 2020 earnings, according to the declarations, which were tabled in parliament this week.
However, contrary to the rest of his cabinet, Abela instead said in his declaration that his income was “as per his tax returns” for last year.
No figure was mentioned and the tax returns were not attached to Abela’s asset declaration.
These asset declarations go a step further than the financial filings all MPs are obliged to make to parliament as the latter do not ask MPs to list their income for the previous year. A spokesman for Abela did not respond when asked by Times of Malta to put a figure to Abela’s income last year.
Media editors are empowered to request MPs’ tax returns from parliament, in what is usually a lengthy process that can take weeks or months.
According to Abela’s asset filings, the prime minister owns an apartment and garage in Marsascala, a property in Xewkija and another property in Żejtun.
Abela does not have any pending loans on those properties.
His income was as per his tax returns for last year
He also holds shares in HSBC, bonds with Hili Properties as well as government stocks.
The prime minister has deposits totalling €331,000 held in five local accounts. Abela did not indicate whether these deposits were his own or included those of his wife.
Deputy Prime Minister Chris Fearne declared income of €64,500 from his ministerial salary last year.
Fearne listed personal and joint account deposits of €140,000. He further declared that his wife has bank deposits of €107,000.
The deputy prime minister has a BOV Lifelink policy worth €38,300 and an investment portfolio of €177,400. His wife’s investment policy is worth a further €129,100.
Fearne is the owner of two properties and a garage.
Other declarations show both Gozitan ministers Anton Refalo and Clint Camilleri to be property rich.
Refalo listed over 16 properties in his declaration and a total income of €91,200. The minister did not provide a breakdown of the various sources of this income.
Refalo said he has €11,200 in the bank while servicing borrowing of €420,300.
Gozo Minister Camilleri in turn listed a total of 21 properties, which he either wholly or partly owns.
He listed income of €64,500 from his government salary, rental income of €20,400, earnings from the sale of a property share amounting to €2,300, a profit from stock sales of $4,300, a dividend of $227, interest of €2.96 and $0.15 and income of €2,400 from a feed-in tariff.
Camilleri has savings of €183,430 spread across two local bank accounts, as well as an HSBC dollar saving account with $314 in it.
He also declared a number of financial investments.
In contrast to the prime minister, most ministers gave a clear numerical overview and breakdown of their earnings last year.
For example, Foreign Minister Evarist Bartolo listed his government pay of €64,500, a social security pension of €5,700, a treasury pension of €34,170, his wife’s pension of €6,882 and dividends and interest on his wife’s inheritance amounting to €2,000.