1998 SOUTHERN AFRICA ECONOMIC ... - National Treasury

M au r i t i u s
Ta x a t i o n
Taxation of companies:
All companies who do not qualify for any inve s t m e n t
i n c e n t i ve scheme face a corporate tax rate of 35 perc e n t ,
except for companies listed on the Stock Exchange, w h i c h
a re taxed at 25 perc e n t ,and manufacturing companies, w h o
a re taxed at 15 perc e n t .
C apital gains: No tax is levied on those who make cap i t a l
gains through the disposal of fixed assets, except on ow n e r s
of immovable pro p e rty who subdivide their land into two or
m o re lots for sale.
Double taxation agreements exist with South A f r i c a ,
G e r m a ny, F r a n c e, C h i n a , D e n m a r k , Ku w a i t , L e s o t h o,
M a d a g a s c a r, N ew Zealand, P a k i s t a n ,S ey c h e l l e s ,G reat Britain,
I n d i a , I t a ly, Z i m b a b we, S we d e n , Swaziland and Malay s i a .
A g reements are curre n t ly being negotiated with Belgium,
B o t sw a n a ,N a m i b i a ,R u s s i a ,S i n g ap o re and Luxe m b o u r g .If no
t reaty exists, unilateral credit relief is supplied by Mauritius
for the burden of the tax levied as a consequence of the lack
of an agre e m e n t .
Taxation of non-resident entities: A branch of a fo re i g n
c o m p a ny is taxed in the same way as a resident company,
except that interest and royalties are not deducted from the
m e a s u re of taxable income. H oweve r, management expenses
charged by a fo reign head office may be deducted.
Taxation of individuals: A maximum marginal rate of 25
p e rcent is levied on personal income.
Withholding tax: T h e re is no separate withholding tax on
p ayments to non-re s i d e n t s ..
Sales tax:A sales tax of eight percent is levied on go o d s .T h i s
tax is soon to be replaced by a value-added tax, to improve
tax buoyancy and promote inve s t m e n t
E x c h a n ge Co n t ro l s
All provisions under the Exchange Control Act have been
suspended since Ju ly 1994.This means that investors are free to
repatriate their cap i t a l , p rofit and dividends, and there are no
restrictions on capital or current account transactions.
N o n - residents may not have a controlling interest in a company,
h oweve r, and may not hold more than 15 percent of the vo t i n g
rights in a sugar company.
I nvestors in Mauritius may now obtain citizenship under the
n ew permanent residence scheme.
Institutions Invo l ved in Investment Pro m o t i o n
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce processes all
applications concerning manufacturing activities,seeing to it that
all re l evant permits are obtained expeditiously.
MEDIA was set up in 1984 as part of the Ministry of Industry
and Commerc e,and is the focal point for investment and export
p romotion activities. S e rvices include assistance in the
identification of investment opport u n i t i e s , joint ve n t u re
p a rt n e r s ,site location and markets for Mauritian pro d u c t s ,a s
well as providing market intelligence through the Tr a d e
I n formation Centre.
The Mauritius Fre e p o rt A u t h o r i t y ’s mandate is to deve l o p,
p romote and manage the Fre e p o rt and to provide the
n e c e s s a ry infrastructure and storage facilities in the Fre e p o rt
z o n e.
The Mauritius Offshore Business Activities Authority (MOBA A )
is responsible for the regulation of offshore activities, t h e
registration of offshore entities and for issuing offshore
c e rtificates through licensed offshore management companies.
M O BAA also deals with work and residence permits and tax
residence cert i f i c a t e s .
Other investment support institutions include the Export
P rocessing Zone Development A u t h o r i t y, Mauritius Standard s
B u re a u ,the Mauritius Export Processing Zone A s s o c i a t i o n ,t h e
Mauritius Employers Fe d e r a t i o n ,and the Mauritius Chamber of
C o m m e rce and Industry.
I nvestment Co d e
Mauritian Company Law is based on the English ve r s i o n .
Legislation re l evant to the fo reign investor includes the Banking
Act (1988), the Companies Act (1984), the Mauritius Offshore
Business Activities Act (1992), the Fre e p o rt Act (1992), t h e
International Companies Act (1994), the Offshore Trusts A c t
(1992) and Fo reign Investor Rules (1994) under the Stock
Exchanges Act (1984).
Mauritius re c e n t ly signed an agreement with the US Ove r s e a s
Private Investment Corporation (Opic), which is anticipated to
i n c reased US private sector activity in the country.
The Mauritian government guarantees against the
nationalisation of any inve s t m e n t .Mauritius is also a member of
MIGA and the International Convention on Settlement of
I nvestment Disputes (ICSID),and is a signatory to the New Yo r k
C o nvention on the Recognition of Enfo rcement of Fo re i g n
Arbitral Aw a rd s .
I N V E S TM E N T
O P P O R T U N I T I E S A N D
P R O J E C T S
O p p o rt u n i t i e s
MEDIA has identified the fo l l owing sectors as priority areas fo r
i nve s t m e n t :
I n formation Te c h n o l ogy
Printing and publishing, light engineering, e l e c t ro n i c s ,j ewe l l e ry,
pharmaceuticals and health care, a g ro-based industry.
P ro j e c t s
Mauritius has re c e n t ly expanded the infrastructural facilities at
the Fre e p o rt and is looking for fo reign companies to make use
of these additional facilities.
Mauritius is seeking a fo reign equity partner for the privatisation
of Mauritius Te l e c o m .
T h e re are plans to build a new airport terminal.This will be a
Build Operate Tr a n s fer pro j e c t
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