Dr. Jonathan De Giovanni is a Partner at WDM International. He is responsible for the legal and international tax service lines at the Firm, which are offered via WDM Lex Advisory, the firm’s legal services firm and company services provider.
Jonathan graduated as Doctor of Laws in 2009 from the University of Malta defending a thesis entitled ‘Domestic and Treaty based Anti-Abuse Provisions to Combat Tax Treaty Abuse: An Analysis’, while contemporaneously reading for a Master of Arts in Financial Services at the University of Malta. He successfully completed his master’s degree in 2011 with the same university, graduating magna cum laude after submitting a thesis regarding the international taxation of investment funds.
Jonathan provides direct and international corporate tax advice to a vast array of clients involved in complex cross border operations. In his daily work he is involved in the application and interpretation of double taxation treaties, EU tax law and case law as well as Maltese income tax legislation. His practice also includes providing tax advice to high net worth individuals in relation to immigration and tax issues.
As an Authorised Registered Mandatory (ARM) under Maltese legislation, Jonathan advises clients who are seeking to obtain Maltese residency under different residency programs, both from an immigration and tax perspective. Within this remit he also specialises in providing high net worth individuals with bespoke solutions and pertinent structuring for both their personal and corporate requirements.
Jonathan has also provided legal advice to financial services operators, wishing to passport their rights, re-domicile or set up their operations in Malta, particularly focused on retail and professional investor funds and investment services. To this end he assists clients through the entire licensing process and with the drafting of pertinent documentation in relation thereto. He is approved by the Malta Financial Services Authority to hold the positions of Director, Compliance officer and Money Laundering Reporting Officer, for entities licensed by the MFSA including funds and other regulated entities.
He is also heavily involved in Aviation Law, having delivered various high calibre seminars in the field. He also delivers lectures at the University of Malta to law students in relation to the fiscal aspects of aircraft registration. His field of practice includes advising clients in relation to aircraft registration and structures involving aircraft ownership, financing and leasing.
Jonathan is a Council Member of the Malta Institute of Taxation, a Member of the International Fiscal Association (IFA), a Member of the Tax and Unregulated Business Committee of the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners (IFSP), a member of the Malta Institute of Management and a Investment Migration Council (IMC). He currently also lectures the Advanced Taxation Module (P6) to students reading for the ACCA qualification. In July 2013 Jonathan also delivered several lectures in relation to topical issues in the sphere of International taxation, for a course organised by the Malta Institute of Taxation, lecturing subject matters such as corporate anti-avoidance provisions, the taxation of aircraft operations and the taxation of collective investment vehicles, amongst others. Between 2013 and 2014 Jonathan was appointed as a member on the steering committee for the International Referral Tax group.
Jonathan has a keen interest in marketing, business development and real estate.
Main Practice Areas:
• International & Maltese Tax Law
• Private Clients & High Net worth Individuals
• Financial Services Law
• Funds
• Aviation Law
Other areas:
• Corporate law
• Investment Services
