Equatorial Guinea
| Pros |
|---|
| Relatively low corporate tax rates for non-oil sectors to encourage economic diversification |
| Modernized transport infrastructure in urban centers through massive oil-funded public investment |
| High level of physical security and low crime rates compared to regional peers |
| Cons |
|---|
| Pervasive corruption and lack of transparency within the ruling elite and state institutions |
| Extreme state control over civil liberties and limited protection for individual property rights |
| Onerous bureaucratic requirements and heavy government interference in private business operations |
Will Equatorial Guinea tax what you earn?
YES, A LOT. Personal income is taxed heavily in Equatorial Guinea (top marginal rate 25%), but the residency test is unusually permissive. The bill is steep; the trick is not to trip into resident status without meaning to.
Will Equatorial Guinea tax what you own?
YES, A LOT. Equatorial Guinea runs the full kit on owned wealth: capital gains at 25%, and an annual wealth tax above a threshold (top rate 25%). Holding here is expensive in every direction: flow, stock, and transfer.
Is it easy to run a company in Equatorial Guinea?
NO. Corporate tax in Equatorial Guinea is 25% with no IP-box relief, on top of VAT at 15. Running a company here is operationally fine but fiscally expensive: the state takes a large bite of every unit of profit.
Is Equatorial Guinea good for your holding company?
NO. Equatorial Guinea doesn't carry a treaty network, which makes it unsuitable as a holding jurisdiction. Any dividend flowing in or out faces full statutory withholding, and no domestic participation exemption can compensate for missing relief on the source side.
| Country | Status | Dividends | Interest | Royalties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| ∅ // no treaties match | ||||
What does it cost to come and go from Equatorial Guinea?
SOME. Equatorial Guinea taxes worldwide income while you're resident, but there's no exit tax on the way out. The cost of leaving is mostly paperwork: unrealised gains follow you to the next jurisdiction untouched.
Will Equatorial Guinea protect your privacy?
YES. Equatorial Guinea has joined almost none of the major automatic-exchange frameworks (CRS, FATCA, CARF, MLI, MAAC), and its corporate registries are non-public. Account flows stay out of foreign hands; ownership stays out of public ones. Discretion is built into the system.
Is Equatorial Guinea itself a liability?
NO. Equatorial Guinea carries no entries on any major blacklist, though it sits outside FATF membership. Counterparties may apply light extra due diligence, but no formal stigma attaches to dealing with it.
Will you feel free in Equatorial Guinea?
NO. Press freedom in Equatorial Guinea is restricted (RSF rank #118). Civic space and independent media operate under pressure or not at all, a constraint that typically extends to financial expression as well, even where crypto isn't formally banned.
Other jurisdictions worth comparing
Picked by similarity of strategic profile to Equatorial Guinea. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.