Labour MP Rosianne Cutajar is still under investigation by the tax department over her alleged involvement in a multi-million euro property deal involving Yorgen Fenech, tax chief Marvin Gaerty has told MPs.
Testifying in front of parliament's Committee for Standards in Public Life, the Inland Revenue Commissioner said he could not divulge details on the case because investigations are still ongoing.
He did confirm tax had been paid on the fee and also that the payment is not a donation. However, he did not confirm who had paid the tax.
Standards Commissioner George Hyzler previously concluded that the Labour MP and former junior minister most likely received a €46,500 brokerage payment through the deal.
The commissioner’s investigation concluded that on the balance of probabilities, Cutajar acted as a broker in the deal and breached parliamentary ethical standards when she failed to declare her income from the 2019 property sale.
Times of Malta revealed in July that the Tax Compliance Unit within the Inland Revenue Department started an audit and accompanying investigation a few weeks after Times of Malta first exposed the multi-million euro property agreement back in December 2020.
Later in the meeting, the committee unanimously agreed to adopt the report by Hyzler.
'Lowest level of sanctions'
Opposition MP Therese Commodini Cachia said following Gaerty's testimony, it was even more clear there was a breach of ethics and the report should therefore be approved. Fellow Opposition MP Karol Aquilina agreed.
The two Labour MPs on the Committee - Glenn Bedingfield and Edward Zammit Lewis - also agreed to approve the report.
"I do believe that Cutajar has already paid a political price and so we should go for the lowest level of sanctions," Zammit Lewis said after the report was approved.
"Let us not go on witch hunts against our colleagues and use this to improve standards," the minister said.
In a statement later, the PN called for Cutajar's immediate resignation from Parliament and be dismissed by the Prime Minister if she fails to do so.
They said Cutajar was still the subject of another three investigations, namely by the Income Tax Department, the police and by the Council of Europe.