The service sector contributes 70% of the Seychelles's economy, which is based on tourism, fish processing and commerce. The International Trade Zone is successful, and the Seychelles are on the way towards becoming an Indian Ocean trading entrepot, which is their avowed goal. The Government is torn between Colbertian paternalism (very French) and economic liberalism (very English) and it is hard to say which is winning.
Until late 2004, when the tsunami did substantial damage, there was growth but also unemployment and a deficit. The local population is not always willing to be cast in the role of economic superstars, to the despair of the Government, which privately would like the Seychelles to be a new Singapore. A macro-economic programme under the acronym MERP, launched in 2004, aimed to correct fiscal and economic imbalances with increased taxation and government retrenchment. The commodity price spike, a shortage of currency reserves and high inflation has prompted a further round of fiscal tightening after the country defaulted on much of its debt in mid-2008, when the government turned to the IMF for financial assistance. By the end of 2009, an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) of USD31m was approved by the IMF. Following a visit by an IMF mission in June, 2011 the Government of the Seychelles was praised for its' fiscal policies and the progress achieved in structural reforms.
|
COUNTRY:
|
SEYCHELLES
|
|---|---|
|
Region:
|
Indian Ocean, Africa
|
|
Currency:
|
Seychellois rupee (SCR) (SR)
|
|
Languages:
|
English, French
|
|
Time Zone:
|
UTC +4 |
|
Phone Code:
|
+248
|
|
Communications:
|
Good
|
|
Formation Cost:
|
600-2000 USD$
|
|
Formation Time:
|
1 - 3 days
|
|
Maintenance cost:
|
400 - 800 USD$
|
Suitable for:
- Wealth Management,
- Banking,
- Fund Management,
- Shipping,
- Yachting,
- Trading Goods,
- Trading Financial,
- Holding Companies
Vehicle Types:
- Limited companies,
- public limited companies,
- trusts,
- sole proprietorships,
- general partnerships and limited partnerships
Capital primary business districts:
Victoria
Good Relationships:
China, Indonesia, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Bad Relationships:
Burma, Iran, Korea (Democratic People's Republic of), Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria
Tax Burden - Business:
Very Light
Tax Burden - Individual:
Very Light
Headline tax rates:
CIT 25-33% (sole traders and partnerships 18.75%-33%), PIT 0%, VAT 15%
Treaty Jurisdictions:
Bahrain, Barbados, Botswana, China, Cyprus, Indonesia, Isle of Man, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mauritius, Oman, Qatar, San Marino, South Africa, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Zambia
TIEA Jurisdictions:
Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Guernsey, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden
