Rosamaria Tristano

This paper aims to examine one of the main implications of freedom of establishment: since it is possible to transfer a company abroad effortlessly, in fact, governments are adopting various strategies to make themselves more attractive. These are based on two main directives: first, a convenient tax system, as in Malta, on the other side technology, as proposed in Estonia. These countries’ strategy is radically different: Malta offers an extremely profitable tax system, while Estonia, on the other side, is the only nation in Europe where the optimal use of technology and its potential allows the consolidation and implementation of a totally digital system, whose advantages outweigh those of taxation. Estonian system is compared to the Maltese one and critically discussed, also through the analysis of different sources, including blogs and online newspapers, that have greater relevance in the Estonian digitalized context. This work makes it possible to identify strengths and weaknesses of these systems, especially regarding the risk of money laundering, which is faced differently in the two countries. This paper shows how Maltese and Estonian systems, pursue the same purpose and collide with the same money laundering issues, but they deal with them in opposite ways. The Estonian system appear more dynamic and reactive in order to remove risks of money laundering, and this made of this country a proper model for other nations.