LOW TAX COUNTRIES
Andorra
Anguilla
Antigua & Barbuda
Aruba
Australia
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bermuda
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Cyprus
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Gibraltar
Hong Kong
Isle of Man
Jersey & Guernsey
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Malta
Mauritius
Panama
Singapore
St.kitts & Nevis
Switzerland
Turks & Caicos
Vanuatu
Index of Articles
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MAURITIUS
About Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius (French: République de Maurice), is an island nation off the coast of Africa in the southwest Indian Ocean, about 900 kilometers (560 mi) east of Madagascar and about 3,943 kilometers (2,450 mi) southwest of India. In addition to the island of
Mauritius, the republic includes the islands of St. Brandon, Rodrigues and the Agalega Islands. Mauritius is part of the Mascarene Islands, with the French island of Réunion 200 kilometers (125 mi) to the southwest
Although known to Arab and Malay sailors as early as the 10th century,
Mauritius was first explored by the Portuguese in 1505; it was subsequently held by the Dutch, French, and British before independence was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather and declining sugar prices have slowed economic growth, leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community
Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure.
Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on expanding local financial institutions and building a domestic information telecommunications industry. Mauritius has attracted more than 9,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa, and investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion.
Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act
| Mauritius |
|
| Capital |
Port Louis
20°10′S 57°31′E |
| Official languages |
English |
| Area |
2,040 km² (179th)
787 sq mi |
| Population
|
1,145,000 (153rd) |
| GDP (PPP)
|
$17.08 billion (115th) |
| per capita
|
$13,703 (51st) |
| Currency |
Mauritian rupee (MUR) |
| Time zone |
(UTC+4) |
| Dialling code |
+230 |
MAURITIUS ECONOMY
Mauritius is well located between India, Africa and Asia, has been an independent member of the Commonwealth since 1968, and became a republic in 1992.
Tourism has become a major contributor to the economy. The airport has
good connections with a wide range of countries. GDP per head of $13,200 at PPP
is in a middle range but growth has mostly been around 5%; inflation is at 5%;
and unemployment at 10% is on the high side, and its economic future is dependent on exports.
Mauritius has quite good land so that sugar became and remains the dominant crop; it still accounts for one third of exports. Apart from encouraging tourism, the Government has tried hard to create a manufacturing sector with a range of investment incentives, free trade zones and a freeport. Garment manufacture has been a particular success. More recently, a financial services sector has developed, including a stock exchange, to take advantage of Mauritius' location offshore India and Africa. The Government is enthusiastic about e-commerce and has built a 'Cyber City'.
Until 1998, the Offshore Company and the International Company (equivalent to an IBC) allowed zero taxation across a range of offshore activities including banking, shipping, insurance and fund management, as well as in the free trade zones. Since a raft of new legislation in 2001 these two types of company are known as Global Business Companies Categories 1 and 2 (GBC1 and GBC2).
Mauritius has decided to be a 'respectable' IOFC and there is now a minimum tax rate of 15% in almost all areas.
Some dilution of the foreign tax credit applied from 2003. However, Mauritius has tax treaties with 27 countries, and they can be combined with the offshore regime to give a good result, especially for trade and investment in India. Mauritius was one of six offshore jurisdictions which wrote 'commitment letters' to the OECD in May 2000 in order to avoid being included on the OECD's list of jurisdictions offering 'unfair' tax competition.
The domestic and offshore sectors are quite firmly separated, although export-oriented domestic manufacturers and service providers get favoured treatment. Otherwise, domestic income tax rates are moderately high, and property transactions are expensive in tax terms.
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