Mexico
| Pros |
|---|
| Low tax burden relative to international averages to allow greater private capital retention and reinvestment. |
| Extensive free trade network to provide duty-free access to major global markets and supply chains. |
| Competitive cost of living and diverse lifestyle choices in emerging tech and business hubs. |
| Cons |
|---|
| Pervasive systemic corruption and complex bureaucracy increasing business costs and legal risks. |
| Widespread security concerns and organized crime activity affecting logistics and personal safety. |
| State-controlled energy markets and uneven infrastructure development limiting access to essential industrial resources. |
Long story short: In Mexico, the state won't gut you with taxes, but paperwork and bureaucratic slowness will drive you mad, and a small bribe often speeds things up.
On the flip side: a solid banking system, nearshoring fueling explosive opportunities, and Mexico City offering decent infrastructure for a Latin American capital.
Besides that: in wealthy neighborhoods like Polanco or Roma Norte, insecurity is barely noticeable, the food is fantastic, the landscapes stunning, and expats keep pouring in, pushing rents up.
Will your income be taxed?
Long story short: YES, A LOT.
Mexico shears personal income hard, peaking at 35%. Residency rules are the classic kit (day counts, economic ties, habitual abode), so if you actually live here, you hand over the full schedule.
The state shows up early, and with a receipt book.
If you earn a year, you will pay .
Roughly effective, with a marginal rate of .
Will your wealth be taxed?
Long story short: YES, A LOT.
Mexico shears capital gains hard (30% at the top), but at least it stops there: no annual wealth levy, no inheritance regime.
Selling is the trigger; as long as you don't pull it, the position compounds untouched.
Easy to run a company there?
Long story short: NO.
Corporate tax in Mexico is 30%, no IP-box mercy, VAT at 16 on top.
Operationally, running a company here is fine; fiscally, the state helps itself to a fat slice of every unit of profit. You do the work, they skim the cream.
A good fit for a holding?
Long story short: NOT REALLY.
Mexico carries an extensive treaty network (54 agreements) that cuts inbound withholding nicely.
The missing piece is a participation exemption: dividends coming up from subsidiaries eat the full corporate schedule (30%) unless a treaty does all the work on its own.
Good for operations; as a pure holding base, the domestic layer helps itself on the way through.
| Country | Status | Dividends | Interest | Royalties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| ∅ // no treaties match | ||||
Easy to come and go?
Long story short: SOME.
Mexico 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.
Is your money watched?
Long story short: YES, CLOSELY.
Mexico 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: NO.
Mexico is clean on every major blacklist (FATF, EU, France, Spain, Portugal, Brazil) and sits inside the FATF club.
Wiring money to or from here raises zero eyebrows: no flags, no extra questions, no compliance officer waking up. Reputationally, a non-event.
Do you feel free there?
Long story short: NO.
Press freedom in Mexico is locked down (RSF rank #124). 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.
| Program | Status | Cross-border | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Moneda digital del banco central (MDBC)
The asset, which is expected to be launched in 2024, will allow opening accounts to contribute to financial inclusion in the country.
Banco de México
|
RESEARCH | — | announce → |
Connected to the world?
Long story short: WELL CONNECTED.
The two rails that matter both run in Mexico. Stripe takes you on: cards get charged, money lands. Amazon delivers to your door.
Around them the picture thins out (8/11 services available), so check your niche processors before you commit, but the backbone of an online business is here.
Other jurisdictions worth comparing
Picked by similarity of strategic profile to Mexico. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.