Mauritius

ESSENTIAL FACTS

LOCATION: 20 17 S, 57 33 E
Mauritius is an island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs.

POPULATION: 1,250,882
The population is mostly in Port Louis.

CURRENCY: Mauritian rupee (MUR)

LANGUAGE: Creole, Bhojpuri, French, English (official)

CLIMATE: Mauritius enjoys a tropical climate.

EDUCATION: Over 84 percent of Mauritian people age 15 and over can read and write.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS: Independence Day, 12 March (1968)

HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT

HISTORY
Arab and Malaysian settlers were first to arrive, thanks to sailors that had known of its beauty; in 1505 Portugal claimed it, then the French, Dutch and British also held administrative responsibility until 1968, when Mauritius became and independent nation.

POLITICAL SYSTEM
Mauritius is a parliamentary democracy. It has a President, a Vice President, a prime Minister, and a Council of Ministers. It legislative branch is a unicameral National Assembly.

JUDICIAL SYSTEM
The Mauritius legal system is based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas, and has a Supreme Court.

COMMERCE AND TRADE

COMMERCIAL ACTIVITY
Agriculture: Sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish
Industry: Food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism

TRADE PRACTICES
Exports: Clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses, fish to the UK, France, UAE, US and Madagascar
Imports: Manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals from France, India, China and South Africa

FREE TRADE ZONES
For over thirty years, Mauritius has been home to a Freeport as part of their Export Processing Zone, which has been accepting 100 percent foreign owned companies to operate there. There are no customs duty, sales tax, corporate tax, withholding tax, or capital gains tax. Expat staff receives income tax-free.

BANKING, FINANCE AND INVESTMENT

FINANCIAL FACTS
Mauritius enjoys a steadily growing Gross Domestic Product, with about 30 percent f its exports being sugar. Unemployment tends to be high. Import duties were abolished in an effort to stimulate the economy. State-run businesses and utilities have been increasingly privatized.
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

STOCK MARKET
The Mauritius Stock Exchange (SEM) has been in operation for over 10 years, and employs an SEMATS automated trading system used at firms as opposed to convening on a stock market trading floor. Market value of publicly traded shares: $5.7 billion in 2007, the last year for which numbers were available. It is a proud member of the African Stock Exchanges Association (ASEA) and as of 2005 has been included in the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE).

MEMBERSHIPS
ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

FOREIGN INVESTMENT
The Mauritian government has been giving incentives to foreign investment companies in a variety of ways, including the Hotel Development scheme, with only 5 percent tax and a withholding tax holiday for 10 years; an Industrial Building Scheme, which has a 15 percent tax rate and permanent withholding tax holiday; an Expansion Scheme, which offers customs duty exemption and tax credits on environmentally friendly equipment; and a Pioneer Status Enterprise Scheme, which is aimed toward technological advances brought to Mauritius and includes tax-exemptions on withholding, customs duty, sales tax and a 15 percent corporate tax cap.

IMMIGRATION

VISAS
Stays of up to six months do not require visas if the traveler is from an OECD country. Taiwanese travelers require an entry permit for any length of stay. Those coming to Mauritius specifically for offshore business dealings are greeted at a separate part of the Mauritius airport.

EMPLOYMENT
Work permits for up to three years are issued for all non-Mauritians wanting employment, and are issued by the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Reform Institutions.

RESIDENCE
A Mauritian resident is one who has spent at least six months there during a fiscal year, and therefore must pay taxes on worldwide income only if that income was not deposited in Mauritius. Non-residents pay taxes on income earned within Mauritian borders.

BUSINESS

BUSINESS ENTITIES
The Mauritius Offshore Business Activities Authority (MOBAA) deals with all offshore company matters on Mauritius with the exception of offshore banking.

TRUSTS
Trusts established in Mauritius have varying durations - from perpetuity for charitable trusts, 25 years for purpose trusts to no more than 100 years for “normal” trusts. A settlor may not be the only beneficiary, but he or she can be named as one of at least two. He or she can also be named as one of the trustees.
Mauritius-based trusts can be voided if there is evidence of fraud. The amount involved in the trust, the actions of the trust, and its performance, decisions and other crucial information are held in the strictest of privacy by the Mauritius Trust Act of 2001, and can only be viewed by a Judge and only then, under duress.

TAXATION

PERSONAL TAXATION
Income is taxable and includes salaries, bonuses, commissions, pensions, buy-outs, rents, interests, and dividends.

CORPORATE TAXATION
The Mauritian government has been giving incentives to foreign investment companies in a variety of ways, including the Hotel Development scheme, with only 5 percent tax and a withholding tax holiday for 10 years; an Industrial Building Scheme, which has a 15 percent tax rate and permanent withholding tax holiday; an Expansion Scheme, which offers customs duty exemption and tax credits on environmentally friendly equipment; and a Pioneer Status Enterprise Scheme, which is aimed toward technological advances brought to Mauritius and includes tax-exemptions on withholding, customs duty, sales tax and a 15 percent corporate tax cap.