Mauritius
| Pros |
|---|
| Competitive fiscal regime with 15% flat tax and no capital gains or inheritance taxes. |
| Robust legal framework protecting private property rights and ensuring high levels of personal security. |
| Strategic maritime location providing a stable gateway for international trade and offshore financial services. |
| Cons |
|---|
| Persistent bureaucratic inefficiencies and reliance on political connections for large-scale infrastructure projects. |
| High dependency on imported commodities leading to elevated living costs and vulnerability to global shocks. |
| Recent legislative trends toward increased digital surveillance and potential restrictions on online expression. |
Long story short: Here, the taxman leaves you in peace: 15% corporate tax, no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax, and setting up your company takes just a few days. The catch: the administration drags its feet on work permits, and the banks, still under international scrutiny after the country got blacklisted, will bury you in compliance paperwork before you can even open an account.
Other than that: decent infrastructure but jammed roads at rush hour, solid security in the upscale neighborhoods, excellent mixed cuisine, and landscapes that will take your breath away.
Will your income be taxed?
Long story short: YES, FAIRLY.
Mauritius taxes personal income at a middling 20%, but only on what you earn locally.
The territorial regime is your lever: whatever you make abroad while living here stays out of the taxman's reach.
If you earn a year, you will pay .
Roughly effective, with a marginal rate of .
Will your wealth be taxed?
Long story short: NO.
Capital gains go untaxed in Mauritius, but don't pop the champagne: the annual wealth tax (top rate 20%) clips your held assets every single year, sold or not.
They don't tax the move, they tax the pile. Hold long enough and the recurring nibble out-eats any one-off sale.
Easy to run a company there?
Long story short: YES.
Corporate tax in Mauritius sits at a low 15%, VAT included in the good mood. Setting up and running a company is cheap; whatever ends up killing your venture here, it won't be the tax bill.
A good fit for a holding?
Long story short: NOT REALLY.
Mauritius offers a moderate treaty network (33 signed) and a partial participation exemption at 80%, meaning 20% of qualifying dividends still hits the corporate rate.
Workable for operating subsidiaries; as a pure holding vehicle it leaks at every distribution. Meh.
| Country | Status | Dividends | Interest | Royalties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| ∅ // no treaties match | ||||
Easy to come and go?
Long story short: LITTLE.
Coming and going from Mauritius costs you nothing worth mentioning. Territorial regime (foreign income stays foreign), no exit tax at the door.
You show up with your stuff, you leave with your stuff, plus whatever you earned abroad in between. Borders the way they should all work.
Is your money watched?
Long story short: YES, CLOSELY.
Mauritius signed every exchange framework that matters and runs a public corporate registry. Whatever you do here (earn, hold, structure) is reported, searchable, or both.
Your money is watched from every angle; if discretion is part of your plan, this isn't your jurisdiction.
Is it blacklisted?
Long story short: SOMEWHAT.
Mauritius is flagged by a few national tax administrations (drawn from FR/ES/PT/BR) and sits outside the FATF club.
The friction is selective: anti-abuse rules fire on specific corridors, and counterparties ask more questions than usual. Neither the FATF nor the EU has it on their lists, which keeps the damage contained: a nuisance, not a scarlet letter.
Do you feel free there?
Long story short: PARTLY.
Press freedom in Mauritius is partial (RSF rank #51) and crypto rides untaxed, but 1 CBDC project(s) are under construction.
Enjoy the current crypto freedom; it may not survive the new rails.
| Program | Status | Cross-border | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
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Mauritius CBDC
Among the motivations of introducing a CBDC are protecting monetary sovereignty and supporting anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) efforts.
The Bank of Mauritius
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RESEARCH | — | announce → |
Connected to the world?
Long story short: POORLY CONNECTED.
The two rails that matter are both dead in Mauritius. 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.
Other jurisdictions worth comparing
Picked by similarity of strategic profile to Mauritius. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.