Rachel Zarb Cousin has been appointed the new President of the Malta Institute of Taxation (MIT) for the term 2026 – 2029.

The institute is an independent and autonomous body made up of, and run by, tax practitioners which works to promote knowledge and good practice in the tax profession. 

Dr Zarb Cousin is a partner within the tax business at Deloitte Malta and leads the international tax service line.

She has been a member of the MIT since the beginning of her professional career in tax, and has contributed actively to the Institute, through her involvement in the Institute’s educational initiatives, as well as a long-standing Council Member.

She occupied the post of Secretary General of the MIT Council between 2022 and 2025, and before that served as Education Committee Chairperson, co-ordinating the Institute’s educational offerings and initiatives. She reassumed the role of Education Committee Chairperson for the term 2025-2026.

In a statement, the Council of the MIT said it is confident that under her leadership, the Institute will continue to grow and further its objectives of advancing education and knowledge in the field of taxation, promoting high standards of practice in the tax profession locally, and providing ongoing support to its members.

The Council extended its deepest gratitude to Dr Conrad Cassar Torregiani who concluded his term as President after ten years in the role and did not recontest.

“The Institute has been woven into almost the entirety of my professional life. I vividly recall, just two months into my career at Deloitte, delivering a public lecture on tax treaty interpretation and application on behalf of the MIT. It was May 2001. I could not have imagined then the journey that lay ahead,” Dr Cassar Torregiani said. He said that he had a front-row seat to the evolution of the Institute, the profession and the Maltese tax system.

The Institute has played an important role in fostering dialogue between practitioners, policymakers and stakeholders, while helping the profession mature in response to the expectations of an increasingly complex world, he added.

“As I step away, I do so with a sense of gratitude, pride and, admittedly, some nostalgia. The Institute has been an important part of my professional life for more than two decades. Like all institutions, however, it must continue to evolve, and that requires renewal in leadership, perspective and ideas. I have every confidence that those now entrusted with that responsibility will, under Rachel Zarb Cousin’s leadership, guide the Institute successfully through its next chapter.”