I have just read the article entitled Les professionels étrangers boudent Maurice published in your edition of 17 January 2008 and I find it interesting that the Government of Mauritius, through the Board of Investment, wants to attract foreign professionals and retirees.

However, I cannot help noting that this seems to apply only to foreign and not necessarily Mauritian nationals.

I am one Mauritian who has been seriously thinking of returning to Mauritius upon retirement, after having worked for the United Nations in a professional capacity in half a dozen countries in South Asia and Europe for almost twenty five years. One of the privileges of working for the UN is a tax-free salary in the country of posting and residence. However, all international professional staff is subject to staff assessments which are deducted monthly from their salaries and remitted annually to the Government of their respective countries to compensate for the loss of their professional contribution to the development of their countries. In my case, this monthly assessment, when compared to senior professional salary levels in Mauritius, is quite considerable, to say the least.

Now, less than two years away from retirement, I have been looking at the tax incentives, if any, offered by Mauritius to attract future retirees like myself and I am afraid I do not find any. On the contrary, if I do decide to return, my United Nations pensions would be subject to taxes like any other income. During my career, many colleagues and friends from the UN looking for a retirement home in countries with sun and sea have asked my advice on Mauritius and my answer has been frank and honest ? ?Don?t think about it unless you want to pay taxes on your pensions?. Unlike Mauritius, there are many countries around the world that provide full tax exemptions: Panama, Cyprus, India, Malaysia and Thailand to name a few.

Coming to my specific case and being a finance professional with excellent knowledge of SAP and many years of experience in reviewing work processes and conducting risk control assessments amongst other things, I consider myself still able and willing to contribute to the development of my country. However, going back does not seem to be an option considering that I will have to pay taxes not only on any future salary I may earn in Mauritius (which I do not mind) but also on my hard-earned UN pensions (which I do mind). Instead, I have decided to look elsewhere and I have narrowed down my choices to India and Thailand, two countries with fast growing economies and culturally rich. The latter, Thailand, has become over the last 10-15 years a haven for UN retirees and Malaysia decided to follow in its footsteps a few years ago.

If Mauritius is serious about attracting future retirees from the United Nations and other big international organizations, then it should learn from these countries, and provide and publicise the necessary tax incentives to make it worthwhile for people like me to choose it over all others.

by Jag Jugessur