The Economic and Financial Affairs Committee of the European Union (EU) has, on the 10th October 2019, confirmed that Mauritius is fully compliant with all commitments on tax cooperation and EU tax good governance principles. The EU also remarked that Mauritius has implemented ahead of schedule all necessary reforms in line with its previous commitments.

Indeed, a raft of reforms to the tax framework was brought by the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2019 (the “Act”) which includes a Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) rule and other measures. The Act has recently been supplemented by the Income tax (Amendment No.2) regulations 2019 as detailed in our previous newsbite. 

This expected and welcomed announcement comes after the OECD had confirmed in November 2018 that Mauritius met with all the international requirements of the BEPS Action 5 and did not have any harmful practices in its tax regimes. The recognition by respected institutions like the OECD and the EU reaffirms that Mauritius, as an International Financial Centre (IFC), has always ensured adherence to international standards and practices. It gives the necessary impetus for Mauritius to continue to grow as an IFC of choice, repute and substance.