# Burkina Faso

 Country code: BF · Currency: XOF · Language: French

**Pros**
- Access to the regional WAEMU market and currency stability through the pegged CFA franc.
- Abundant opportunities in the gold mining sector and untapped agricultural land for private development.
- Low labor costs and a youthful workforce eager for private sector employment and entrepreneurship.

**Cons**
- Extreme security volatility and persistent threats from non-state armed groups across many regions.
- Landlocked status and underdeveloped infrastructure leading to high transportation costs and logistical delays.
- Pervasive corruption and institutional instability undermining property rights and the rule of law.

Long story short: Your money doesn't move here: the CFA franc stays pegged to the euro, and the central bank won't play games with inflation, even as the country reels from one coup after another.

The flip side: paperwork drags, bribes grease every counter, and heading out of Ouaga without caution gets risky. In the capital's wealthy districts, life stays calm, but the country burns around it.

Besides that: decent roads in town, crumbling elsewhere, simple good food, and a soil rich in gold that keeps miners coming despite everything.

## Will your income be taxed?

Long story short: NO.
**Burkina Faso** doesn't tax personal income, and nobody comes sniffing around when you settle in. No withholding, no tax return, no centre-of-vital-interests trap waiting to snap shut.

Earn what you want: the taxman here simply doesn't know your name.

**01.1 Income tax**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Personal income tax | NONE | no personal income tax framework |

**01.2 Tax residence test**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 183-day rule | does not exist here |  |
| Economic interest | does not exist here |  |
| Family centre | does not exist here |  |
| Habitual abode | does not exist here |  |
| Extended-stay test | does not exist here |  |

## Will your wealth be taxed?

Long story short: NO.
**Burkina Faso** keeps its hands off what you hold. *No capital gains tax*, no annual wealth grab, no inheritance regime.

Your portfolio compounds in peace and leaves the way it came in; nobody's standing at the door with their palm out.

**02.1 Investment income**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Capital gains | NONE | no capital gains regime |
| Dividend tax | NONE | no dividend tax |
| Interest income | NONE | no interest income tax |

**02.2 Wealth & estate**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wealth tax | NONE | no annual wealth tax · no real-estate wealth tax · no net-worth assessment |
| Inheritance system | NONE | no estate tax · no heir-based duties · no succession tax framework. Wealth transfers across heir-classes are not taxed in this jurisdiction. Only standard probate / registration fees may apply. |

**02.3 Crypto**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Crypto · tax regime | UNREGULATED | Fallback rate: 25% · Burkina Faso has no specific cryptocurrency tax legislation. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), it follows the directives of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), which has issued formal warnings that crypto-assets are not legal tender and are not permitted for use within the financial system. However, private ownership is not explicitly criminalized. In the absence of specific rules, crypto gains are treated as taxable income under the General Tax Code (Code Général des Impôts). Casual gains are subject to the progressive Personal Income Tax (IRPP) with a top marginal rate of 25%, while professional or frequent trading is treated as business income (BIC) subject to a standard rate of 27.5%. |
| Crypto-to-crypto | TAXABLE | each swap counts as a disposal — gains realised at every trade |
| FATF travel rule | NOT SIGNED | no information-sharing obligation on VASP transfers |

## Easy to run a company there?

Long story short: YES, BUT EXPOSED.
**Burkina Faso** has *no corporate income tax* but stacks the two nastiest non-fiscal frictions: *criminal liability* for misuse of corporate assets (jail on the table for sloppy intra-company spending) and *public registries* (your name served up to anyone with a browser).

The sticker says zero; the exposure says otherwise, on every other axis.

**03.1 Rates**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Corporate tax | NONE | no corporate income tax framework |
| VAT standard rate | NONE | no general VAT · no consumption tax framework |

**03.2 Regime & registry**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| IP Box · Patent Box | NONE | no IP regime · IP income taxed under standard corporate rules |
| Misuse of corporate assets | CRIMINAL | criminal liability · Article 891 of the OHADA Uniform Act on Commercial Companies and Article 613-1 of the Burkina Faso Penal Code (Law No. 025-2018/AN) · Burkina Faso follows the OHADA legal framework, which strictly upholds the 'Autonomy of the Legal Entity' principle. Under this doctrine, a company is a distinct legal person with its own 'social interest' (intérêt social) separate from that of its owners. Consequently, a sole director who is also the sole shareholder can be held criminally liable for Misuse of Corporate Assets (Abus de Biens Sociaux) if they use company funds for personal purposes. The consent of the sole shareholder does not negate the crime, as the company itself is the victim, and the offense is characterized regardless of whether the company remains solvent. |
| Shareholders privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Registre du Commerce et du Crédit Mobilier (RCCM) |
| Directors privacy | PUBLIC PAYWALL | Registre du Commerce et du Crédit Mobilier (RCCM) |

**03.3 Incorporation cost**

_In this country, the most standard company form is called Société à Responsabilité Limitée (Limited Liability Company). The costs below are for incorporating a company in its simplest form, for reference only._

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CEFORE Official Registration Fee (Personne Morale) | USD 84 |  |
| RCCM Security and Filing Fees | USD 14 |  |
| Foreigner Commerce Authorization (AEC) Stamps and Fees | USD 39 |  |
| Professional Incorporation Service (Legal/Consultant) | USD 786 |  |
| Total | USD 923 |  |

## A good fit for a holding?

Long story short: NO.
**Burkina Faso** has no treaty network at all, which buries the holding question, full stop.

Every dividend in or out eats the statutory withholding at full rate, and no domestic regime can patch a hole that sits on the source side. Don't park a holding here.

**04.1 Substance & exemptions**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Territorial · individuals | WORLDWIDE | worldwide income taxation regardless of source |
| Territorial · corporates | WORLDWIDE | worldwide corporate taxation |
| Participation exemption | 95% | 10% holding · 24 months min |
| CFC rules | NONE | no controlled foreign corporation regime · foreign-source corporate income out of scope |

**04.2 Withholding tax · non-resident**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| WHT · dividends | NONE | no withholding on outbound dividends |
| WHT · interest | NONE | no withholding on outbound interest |
| WHT · royalties | NONE | no withholding on outbound royalties |
| Tax-haven WHT | NONE | no punitive rate on record |

**04.3 Treaty network**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Treaties signed | 0 | active |
| Treaties pending | — | in negotiation |

## Easy to come and go?

Long story short: SOME.
**Burkina Faso** taxes your worldwide income while you're resident, but at least the exit is free: *no exit tax* on the way out.

Leaving costs you paperwork, not money; your unrealised gains walk out the door with you, untouched.

**05.1 Exit & dual nationality**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Exit tax | NONE | no triggers active · residence change tax-free · no deemed-disposal mechanism |
| Dual citizenship | FORBIDDEN | naturalisation requires renouncing existing citizenship |

**05.2 Citizenship paths**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Residence | 10 years | available path to naturalisation |
| Marriage | — | not available |
| Birth | jus soli | available path to naturalisation |
| Descent | — | not available |
| Investment | — | not available |

## Is your money watched?

Long story short: PARTLY.
**Burkina Faso** has signed *most* of the standard exchange frameworks *and* runs a public corporate registry. Your accounts get reported to your home tax office, and your shareholdings sit in the shop window.

Watched on both axes: not wall-to-wall, but don't come here for discretion.

**Multilateral reporting frameworks — 2/9 active · 2 pending**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| CRS | None | — |
| CARF | None | — |
| FATCA | None | — |
| MLI | In force | 2020 |
| BEPS | Signed | — |
| MAAC | In force | 2022 |
| GLOBAL FORUM | Signed | — |
| EOIR | None | — |
| CRYPTO TRAVEL RULE | None | — |

## Is it blacklisted?

Long story short: NO.
**Burkina Faso** sits on no major blacklist, though it's *outside* the FATF club.

Some counterparties will run a bit of extra due diligence out of habit, but there's no formal stigma: you won't get hassled for dealing with it.

**Blacklist exposure — Clear everywhere**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| EMBARGO | Clear | un / us / eu sanctions |
| FATF | Clear | grey / black list |
| EU | Clear | non-cooperative list |
| FRANCE | Clear | ETNC list |
| SPAIN | Clear | tax-haven list |
| PORTUGAL | Clear | favourable regimes |
| BRAZIL | Clear | low-tax list |

## Do you feel free there?

Long story short: NO.
Press freedom in **Burkina Faso** is *locked down* (RSF rank **\#105**). Independent media and civic space operate under pressure (when they operate at all), and that kind of grip usually spills over into economic life too.

Small mercy: crypto isn't formally banned.

**08.1 Press freedom**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Press freedom · RSF index | 105/180 | score 52 · ↓ 19 ranks year-on-year |

Central bank digital currency

NONE

no announced CBDC program · no pilot · no retail or wholesale prototype on record

## Connected to the world?

Long story short: POORLY CONNECTED.
The two rails that matter are both dead in **Burkina Faso**. *Stripe* won't onboard you, so card payments mean a foreign structure or a local processor with its own rules. *Amazon* doesn't deliver either.

Some secondary services run (**3/11**), but for an online business this is swimming against the current.

**Accept payments — 1/6 available**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Stripe | Not available | card payments |
| PayPal | Not available | wallet payments |
| Adyen | Not available | enterprise psp |
| Mollie | Not available | eu payments |
| GoCardless | Not available | direct debit |
| Paddle | Available | merchant of record |

**Bank and move money — 1/3 available**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wise | Available | multi-currency |
| Revolut | Not available | personal banking |
| Revolut Business | Not available | business banking |

**Buy and sell on Amazon — 1/2 available**

| Item | Status | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Amazon | Not available | consumer delivery |
| Amazon Seller | Available | marketplace selling |

  SEE ALSO## Other jurisdictions worth comparing

Picked by similarity of strategic profile to Burkina Faso. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.

  PROFILE-ADJACENT Same shape, comparable overall friction.

 [   Gabon GA  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/ga) [   Ghana GH  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/gh) [   Benin BJ  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/bj)

  NOTABLY MORE FAVORABLE Same family of strategies, higher total score.

 [   India IN  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/in) [   Bangladesh BD  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/bd) [   Egypt EG  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/eg)

  NOTABLY LESS FAVORABLE Same family of strategies, lower total score.

 [   St. Martin MF  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/mf) [   St. Pierre & Miquelon PM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/pm) [   Gambia GM  → ](https://stateless.sx/en/country/gm)