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Mauritius is an island in the Indian
Ocean located about 800km (500mi) east of Madagascar. It's
an independent democratic republic. The legal system is based
primarily on British common law, but also includes some principles
of French Napoleonic Code. The Mauritius licensing and regulatory
body for non-banking offshore business is The Financial Services
Commission.
Tax system facts:
NO
withholding taxes on dividends paid out of income
from approved offshore activities
NO withholding tax on interest
NO capital gains tax
NO estate duty or inheritance tax payable on the inheritance
of shares in an offshore entity
NO exemption from stamp duties on all documents relating
to offshore business transactions. Mauritius
is a sophisticated Offshore
Financial Center (OFC) having exclusively flexible legislation.
It has concluded 30
tax treaties, and treaties with Cyprus, Lesotho, and
Russia are in the process of ratification.
The two best Mauritius offshore tools we offer:
Company Holding a Category 1 Global Business
Licence (GBC 1 - formerly the Offshore Company)
and Company Holding a Category 2 Global Business Licence
(GBC 2 - formerly the International Company).
Multinational corporations are successfully using the
above vehicles to trade with and/or route their investments
into vast emerging regions such as India, China and Pakistan.
| Some outstanding
features and/or requirements |
GBC 1
Company |
|
| Local registered
- office
required |
Yes |
Yes |
| Bearer shares |
Not Allowed |
Not Allowed |
| Capital raising from
the public. Listing on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius.
|
Allowed |
Not Allowed |
| Access to double
taxation treaties benefits |
Yes |
No |
| Taxation |
15%, but the unilateral
foreign tax credit (80% of the tax rate) is applicable,
leaving the effective tax rate 3% |
Exempt (NO taxes) |
| Non-resident directors |
Allowed |
Allowed |
| Filing of annual
return |
No |
No |
| Filing of audited
accounts (to MOBAA only) required |
Yes |
No |
| Important notes |
1. Activities may
include raising capital from the public, banking,
insurance, management of a mutual fund, nominee or
trustee services.
2. GBC 1 companies are widely used for trading with
or investing in India |
GBC 2 is a more confidential
vehicle, but it's not allowed to raise capital from
the public |
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