Regulatory, Tax and Compliance

Salient features

  • Mauritius has a residence based system of taxation and taxes on world-wide basis.
  • A person who is not a citizen of Mauritius can no longer, since 2019, do business mainly outside Mauritius through a Mauritius domestic resident corporation. A Global Business Licence (“GBC”) is required.
  • A non-citizen of Mauritius may set up, through a licenced Management Company like GWMS, and hold 100% shareholding of a GBC or an Authorised Company (“AC”).
  • No exchange control restrictions;
  • Capital and profits can be freely repatriated.
  • No withholding taxes on dividends paid out of income from Global Business activities, no withholding tax on interest and no capital gains tax in Mauritius.
  • Corporate tax rate is 15% although an effective corporate rate of 3% may also be available for certain type of Income, subject to compliance with substance and other conditions.
Regulatory, Tax and Compliance - GWMS

A partial exemption system was introduced with effect from 01 January 2019 whereby companies deriving specific types of income may benefit from 80 % tax exemption subject to meeting conditions of substance. The types of income currently qualifying for partial exemption are:

  • 1. Foreign dividend derived by a company
  • 2. Interest derived by a company other than bank
  • 3. Income derived by a company from ship/aircraft leasing
  • 4. Income attributable to Foreign PE
  • 5. Income from CIS/CEF/CIS manager/CIS administrator/adviser/asset manager approved by FSC
  • 6. Reinsurance/reinsurance brokering activities
  • 7. Leasing & provision of international fibre capacity
  • 8. Sale, financing, arrangement, asset management of aircraft and its spare parts and aviation advisory services related thereto