# Mauritania

 Country code: MR · Currency: MRU · Language: Arabic

**Pros**
- Significant untapped mineral and offshore gas reserves offering high-yield investment opportunities in extractive industries.
- Strategic maritime access via the Atlantic coast for establishing independent international trade and logistics hubs.
- Special Economic Zone in Nouadhibou providing tax exemptions and simplified administrative procedures for foreign capital.

**Cons**
- Pervasive systemic corruption and bureaucratic hurdles requiring frequent informal payments to navigate state institutions.
- Fragile regional security environment and risks of cross-border instability affecting long-term operational safety.
- Underdeveloped infrastructure and unreliable power supply increasing operational costs for energy-intensive private ventures.

Long story short: In Mauritania, the tax authorities have neither the means nor the will to hunt you down: stay low-key and your tax burden basically melts to zero.

The flip side: every stamp gets negotiated, corruption seeps into every administrative layer, the banking system stays archaic and wary of foreigners, and outside the nice neighborhoods, roads and power run on duct tape.

Besides that: security stays decent in Nouakchott's upscale districts, the fresh fish is excellent, the desert and Atlantic coast are stunning, and fishing and mining carry real economic potential.

## Will your income be taxed?

Long story short: YES, A LOT.
They'll shear you for up to **40%** at the top marginal rate in **Mauritania**, and the taxman has *long arms*: linger a bit too long, park your economic interests here, and the net closes.

Steep rate, wide catchment: the classic combo of states that don't let go of their cash cows. Don't expect a plane ticket to fix it.

**01.1 Income tax**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Personal income tax | 15 → 40% | progressive · 3 brackets |

| Bracket (USD) | Rate |
| --- | --- |
| 149 – 224 | 15% |
| 224 – 523 | 25% |
| 523 + | 40% |

**01.2 Tax residence test**

_A single active rule is enough to make you tax-resident._

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

## Will your wealth be taxed?

Long story short: NO.
**Mauritania** 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 | flat |
| Dividend tax | 10% | flat |
| Interest income | 10% | flat |

**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: 40% · The Central Bank of Mauritania (BCM) issued a formal notice in 2018 stating that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender and their use is prohibited (interdit) within the national territory. There is no specific tax legislation for digital assets; consequently, any income or gains derived from such activities are subject to the general Personal Income Tax (ITS) regime, which features progressive rates reaching a top marginal bracket of 40%. |
| 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: NO.
**Mauritania** runs the full pressure stack: corporate tax at **25%**, *criminal liability* for misuse of corporate assets (spend company money on yourself and you're prosecutable, sole shareholder or not; your consent is worthless), and *public registries* (your name in the shop window for anyone with a browser).

Heavy rate, real jail risk, zero discretion. If you set out to design a worse frame for an owner-operator, you'd struggle.

**03.1 Rates**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Corporate tax | 25% | progressive · +2.5% minimum tax on taxable income |
| VAT standard rate | 16% | single rate · no reduced tiers |

**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 · Articles 818 and 825 of the Commercial Code (Loi n° 2000-05 du 18 janvier 2000) · Mauritania follows the 'Autonomy of the Legal Entity' principle, where a company's assets are legally distinct from those of its shareholders. Under Article 818 (for SARLs) and Article 825 (for SAs) of the Commercial Code, the 'Abus de Biens Sociaux' (Misuse of Corporate Assets) is a criminal offense punishable by 1 to 5 years of imprisonment and fines. This applies even to a sole shareholder-manager because the act is considered a violation of the 'social interest' (intérêt social) of the entity, which is protected independently of the owner's personal interests or the company's current solvency. |
| 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 (SARL) (Limited Liability Company (LLC)). The costs below are for incorporating a company in its simplest form, for reference only._

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Commercial Registry Fees (Guichet Unique) | USD 12 |  |
| Notary Fees and Legal Documentation | USD 1,245 |  |
| Professional Incorporation Service Fees | USD 1,992 |  |
| Total | USD 3,250 |  |

## A good fit for a holding?

Long story short: NO.
**Mauritania** 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 | TERRITORIAL | territorial principle — foreign-source profits generally exempt |
| Participation exemption | 90% | 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 | 10% | non-resident outbound |
| WHT · interest | 10% | non-resident outbound |
| WHT · royalties | 15% | non-resident outbound |
| 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.
**Mauritania** 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 | — | not available |
| Descent | — | not available |
| Investment | — | not available |

## Is your money watched?

Long story short: NO.
Foreign tax offices see next to nothing of what you do in **Mauritania**: it has signed *few exchange frameworks*.

But the *corporate registries are public*: your shareholdings and directorships are one search away for anyone curious. Invisible from abroad, on display at home.

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

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

## Is it blacklisted?

Long story short: NO.
**Mauritania** 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: PARTLY.
**Mauritania** sits in the *middle band* of the RSF press-freedom index (rank **\#50**): civil society functions, but the walls are real and you'll learn fast where they stand.

Crypto lives in the standard regulated tier.

**08.1 Press freedom**

| Metric | Value | Detail |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Press freedom · RSF index | 50/180 | score 67 · ↓ 17 ranks year-on-year |

Central bank digital currency

    Program Status Cross-border Sources     Mauritania CBDC

The central bank aims to preserve the stability of the Mauritanian financial system and the health of the economy.

Central Bank of Mauritania

   RESEARCH   —   [announce →](https://www.gi-de.com/en/group/press/press-releases/the-central-bank-of-mauritania-commissions-g-d-to-design-a-digital-currency "Announcement")

 programs 1

## Connected to the world?

Long story short: POORLY CONNECTED.
The two rails that matter are both dead in **Mauritania**. *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 Mauritania. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.

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