With the assistance of the International Monetary Fund and other tax experts, the Republic of Seychelles (a small island nation 832 miles east of mainland Africa, northeast of Madagascar, with a population of about 84,000) completed a major tax reform that includes a broad-based flat tax. In the 2010 budget, Minister of Finance Danny Faure spelled out the details.
January 1, 2010: A 15% withholding rate will be applied to dividends and interest income.
July 1, 2010: A personal income tax (PIT) will replace former Social Security fund contributions amounting to 22.5% of wages with a flat-rate tax of 18.75%. Expatriates will be subject to the PIT at an initial rate of 10%. Rebates will be given to those with the lowest incomes in the country below a PIT threshold.
January 1, 2011: The PIT rate will be reduced to 15%.
January 1, 2012: The expatriate PIT rate will rise to 15% to be harmonized with that of residents.
On January 1, 2010, the tax reform also lowered the top rate of tax on corporations, partnerships, and sole traders from 40% to 33% on income exceeding Seychelles Rupees 1,000,000 (US$1 = SCR 12.5), with a lower rate of 18.75% applied to income beyond a tax-free threshold over SCR 250,000 up to SCR 1,000,000.
