Cambodia
| Pros |
|---|
| Competitive corporate tax rates and significant tax exemptions for strategic investment projects |
| Extensive dollarization of the economy to minimize currency risk and simplify international transactions |
| Relatively open markets with few restrictions on foreign capital and business ownership |
| Cons |
|---|
| Pervasive corruption within the judiciary and bureaucracy to undermine legal protections and contract enforcement |
| Inadequate infrastructure and high energy costs to increase the overall expense of doing business |
| Weak rule of law and risks of arbitrary state intervention in private business activities |
Will Cambodia tax what you earn?
YES, FAIRLY. Cambodia taxes personal income at an intermediate 20% and pairs it with a permissive residency test. You won't fall into the net by accident, but once in, the rate isn't trivial.
Will Cambodia tax what you own?
NO. Cambodia doesn't tax what you hold. No capital gains, no annual wealth assessment, no inheritance regime. The value sitting in your portfolio compounds untouched, and leaves it the same way it arrived.
Is it easy to run a company in Cambodia?
YES, BUT TAXED. Corporate tax in Cambodia is 20%, but the tax isn't where this country hurts. It treats misuse of corporate assets as a criminal offense (the textbook case is the French abus de biens sociaux doctrine: using your own company's money for personal purposes can trigger prosecution, even as sole shareholder, because the company is a distinct legal person and your consent doesn't waive the offense). And it runs public corporate registries: your name as shareholder is queryable by anyone with a browser. For an owner-operator, those two combined are the real friction. Heavier than the rate, and far less negotiable. Running a clean structure is straightforward; running it casually isn't.
Is Cambodia good for your holding company?
NOT REALLY. Cambodia is structurally weak as a holding base: only 1 treaties signed and no participation exemption to soften the domestic layer. Cross-border dividend flows will leak value at every step.
| Country | Status | Dividends | Interest | Royalties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| ∅ // no treaties match | ||||
What does it cost to come and go from Cambodia?
SOME. Cambodia 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 Cambodia protect your privacy?
YES. Cambodia has signed few exchange frameworks, so foreign tax authorities won't routinely see what you do here. But corporate registries are public: ownership and directorships are queryable by anyone with a browser. Privacy from abroad, transparency at home.
Is Cambodia itself a liability?
NO. Cambodia 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 Cambodia?
NO. Press freedom in Cambodia is restricted (RSF rank #161). 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 Cambodia. No editorial ranking — neighbours in the same scoring space.