Mauritius Offshore News

Summary: Mauritius enacts a series of legislative amendments to slash personal and corporate taxation rates making it an attractive offshore jurisdiction

Mauritius is already an interesting offshore jurisdiction particularly for non-resident Indians seeking to establish offshore companies through which to invest tax efficiently in India - but increasingly Mauritius has been losing out in terms of foreign direct investment and overall economic growth because of strong competition around the world from other tax efficient nations.

To create a more competitive and attractive taxation and business environment the government of Mauritius has decided to enact a series of dramatic taxation changes that will see income and corporate taxation slashed to just 15%; this is an update on the latest Mauritius offshore news for readers interested in finding out about the most tax friendly nations in the world.

According to a recent article published on offshore experts the Sovereign Group’s website, both the 2006 Finance Act and Business Facilitation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act have been approved in Mauritius and these Acts will see a flat tax rate of just 15% implemented across the board for income and corporate tax payers between 2009 and 2012.

The tax cuts are being introduced as part of the Mauritius government’s two phase approach to increasing FDI, encouraging the inward migration of wealthy expatriates, reducing local unemployment, reducing the tax burden for lower income families and lowering the nation’s public debt.

The first phase of the government’s approach is related to attracting high wealth and income individuals to reside, purchase property and pay tax in Mauritius.  Such individuals can now buy real estate over a certain value and automatically receive residency and they will be taxed at a flat rate of just 15% on income remitted to the nation from 2009 making Mauritius an interesting location for those seeking to reduce their overall personal taxation burden.  As part of this phase the government is also giving higher exemptions to lower income Mauritian families with dependents to enable them to achieve a higher standard of living.

The second phase is related to the attraction of international business and foreign direct investment which the government is hoping will boost the economy and create employment. 

In an effort to become one of the most attractive nations taxation-wise in the world for international business, Mauritius is slashing corporate taxes to just 15% across the board with an implementation schedule set to last until between 2009 and 2012 depending on the nature of the business and the license type companies have with which to operate in Mauritius. 

For most companies this is fantastic news but for others it is less welcome as they have benefited to date from lower taxation as well as taxation holidays.  The government will now phase out these additional benefits and over time all companies, individuals and entities deriving profits or remitting an income to Mauritius will have to pay just 15% tax.

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