BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS 2020-2021
Propelling Mauritius into the New Normal
- Financial Services
• Suite of new financial products including Central Bank digital currency, Variable Capital Companies, debut Sukuk issuance and Green and Blue Bond issuance by Bank of Mauritius;
• Introducing new frameworks for digital banking, private banking and wealth management;
• Setting up of Venture Capital Market for start ups and SMES in Mauritius Stock Exchange;
• Implementation of the five remaining recommendations under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Action Plan by September 2020, including risk-based supervisions and timely access to beneficial ownership information;
• New AML/CFT provisions to complement existing AML/CFT laws;
• Setting up of a specialised Financial Offences Court. - Fairer Tax Treatment
• Income starting from Rs 3 million subject to 25% solidarity levy;
• Companies/Group of companies generating gross income in excess of Rs 500 million subject to levy of:
> 0.3% for insurance companies, financial institutions, service providers and property holding companies;
> 0.1% for other companies;
• not applicable to companies operating in tourism sector or to global business companies. - Best in Class for Business
• Digital platform from company formation, licensing, property registration, Bank centralized KYC to customs clearance services amongst others. - Gateway for Foreigners
• Right to work permit (Occupation Permit – “OP”) and right to reside permit (Residence Permit – “RP”) merged into one single permit;
• Eligible retirees now entitled to work and/or reside in Mauritius for 10 years, renewable;
• Minimum investment amount for obtaining right to work in Mauritius is now reduced to USD 50,000;
• Spouse of an OP holder can now invest or work in Mauritius without a permit and parents of OP holders may now live in Mauritius without a permit;
• Acquisition of real estate by foreign buyers through digital Power of Attorney;
• Professionals with an OP and foreign retirees with a RP will be able to invest in other ventures without any shareholding restriction;
• Non-citizens who have a RP under the various real estate schemes will no longer require an OP to invest and work in Mauritius. - Tourism
• Striking a commercial partnership with Liverpool Football Club for the promotion of the Mauritius destination;
• Aparthotels Scheme enabling hotels to convert part of their accommodation units into sellable serviced apartments;
• Invest Hotel Scheme enabling owners to occupy their units for 90 days annually;
• Special arrangements at the airport for high net worth tourists arriving in private jets;
• Licensees of Tourism Authority and Beach Authority exempt from payment of licence fees for two years. - Blue Economy
• 8-year tax holiday, duty and VAT exemption applicable to inland aquaculture scheme;
• Single licence for chartered yacht encompassing multiple berthing options, rights for helicopter flights and gaming. - Digital Transformation
• Setting up data technology park specialising inter alia, on deep artificial intelligence and additive manufacturing;
• Mauritius Digital Transformation Agency set up to champion digital transformation across public sector;
• New sandbox framework for innovative technology. - Pension
• Replacing the National Pension Fund contributions by the Contribution Sociale Généralisé, employees :
employees earning Rs 50,000 or less monthly:
> contribution by employees 1.5%, and employers 3%
employees earning more than Rs 50,000 monthly:
> contribution by employees 3% and employers 6% - Education
• 8-year tax holiday and other tax incentives to attract top 500 global institutions to set up branch campuses in Mauritius. - Construction
• 12,000 social housing units to be built across the whole island;
• Fast tracking 34 investment projects worth around Rs 62 billion rupees;
• Various fiscal incentives for construction of pharmaceutical manufacturing factories, food processing plants and warehouses;
• Waiver of application fees for Building and Land Use Permit. - Agriculture
• Ensuring food security through Farm to Fork concept;
• Matching demand and supply for land to be used for food production through a centralised digital Land Bank accessible to the public;
• Possibility for small planters to convert 10% agricultural land for residential or commercial purpose. - Manufacturing
• Promoting and protecting the “Made in Mauritius” brand through quotas and shelf-spaces in supermarkets;
• 15% investment tax credit over 3 years to all manufacturing companies;
• Double deduction on the cost of acquisition of patents and franchises;
• Financial support to enterprises producing hygienic goods;
• 2-year Government support to “Made in Mauritius” warehouses in Tanzania and Mozambique. - Export
• Port dues and terminal handling charges for exports waived from July to December 2020 and halved during the first semester of 2021;
• Freight Rebate Scheme for exports extended to Africa;
• Trade Promotion and Marketing Scheme extended for exports to Japan, Australia, Canada and the Middle East. - Health Services
• Fiscal incentives to companies operating in life sciences and medical R&D. - Africa
• Mauritius investment into African projects including Special Economic Zones.