Mauritius Revenue Authority E-Newsletter. Vol 15 March 2009..Services Redefined...Changing the mindset...Partners in progress...

Kenya: Benchmarking Study Tour

On the 16th of March 2009, MRA welcomed three officials from the Kenya Investment Agency (KenInvest) who were in Mauritius on an information gathering tour with regard to doing business in Mauritius. They have selected Mauritius in view of its excellent ranking (24th out of 181 countries) in Doing Business Survey 2009.

Kenivest is a government agency charged with the promotion of both local and foreign investments. Some officials of this agency have embarked on a “Benchmarking Study Tour” in the best performing Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) with a view to learn from the best practices in investment promotion and generation, research and policy advocacy, investor servicing and the operations of a one-stop shop for businesses.

DTAA - Mauritius / Germany

 A German delegation headed by Mr Wolfgang Lasars was in Mauritius from 18 March to 24 March 2009 to renegotiate the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between Mauritius and Germany. The first round of negotiations concerning the DTAA was held at MRA. The Mauritius team was made up of representatives from the SLO and Ministry of Finance and Economic Empowerment and was headed by Mr M. Mosafeer, Director Large Taxpayer Department and acting Director General.

 

PSDP - Understanding the reforms made in Mauritius

A Zambian Team comprising of 8 officers visited the MRA on the 3rd March 2009 with a view to understanding the income tax reform programme initiated by Mauritius. The delegation comprised of representatives of the following institutions:


- Private Sector Development Programme (PSDP)


- Patents & Company Registration Department


- Ministère du Commerce et de L’industrie


- Ministère du Travail et de la Securité Sociale


- Citizens Economic Empowerment Programme
 
The Team Leader  of the delegation, Mrs Kayula Siame stated that she was impressed by the ranking of Mauritius in the « Ease of Doing Business 2009 Survey » and said they were eager to learn how the country was able to top the rank in African countries. The Director General of the MRA. Mr Sudhamo Lal made a presentation on the realizations of the MRA since its creation.
 

Capital flight - Information Gathering

A delegation from Norway visited MRA on the 26th March 2009. Their mandate was to examine and gather information on secrecy/provisions in the context of capital flight.

 

China Development Bank briefed on tax issues.

A delegation of two Chinese officials from the China Development Bank (CDB) visited MRA on an information gathering tour on taxation in relation to international bank tax remittances as well as other issues relating to a bank’s tax liabilities towards the MRA. They were accompanied by a Senior Investment Advisor of the Board of Investment of Mauritius.  The delegates from the CDB also received information on the existing DTAA between Mauritius and the People’s Republic of China.