What will it take for Mauritius to become a future-ready economy, amid a challenging fiscal backdrop? The Honourable Dr Navin Ramgoolam, Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Mauritius, sought to provide the answers in his National Budget speech to the National Assembly on 19 June 2026.
The Prime Minister opened on a positive note, highlighting that inflation has fallen to 3.7%, down from an average of 7% annually between 2022 and 2024. Gross official currency reserves have reached their highest level in decades at over USD 10.3 billion. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.2%, while per capita GDP increased by 3.3%. The Prime Minister outlined four guiding principles – responsibility, solidarity, economic efficiency and social justice – to underpin the Government’s objectives of achieving higher, more inclusive growth.
The road to digitisation and modernisation
AI and digitisation were the key watchwords for this year’s Budget. Following the Prime Minister’s recent visit to the AI Impact Summit in India, Mauritius is set to participate in Google’s America-India Connect initiative, potentially strengthening strategic routes towards South Africa, India and Singapore. Mauritius also aims to position itself internationally as a trusted hub for AI and cloud services, ready to explore regional opportunities.
The Prime Minister emphasised plans to “bring about a Mauritius start-up revolution by creating a strong ecosystem”, including a dedicated Start-Up Act and an accelerator scheme under the Economic Development Board (EDB).
To support economic diversification – partly with backing from India – the Government intends to transform Mauritius into a leading regional port. The Prime Minister noted that a second international operator will be licensed for container handling, bunkering and transhipment.
Additional measures to foster innovation include a new Industrial Bill to rebuild the country’s industrial export base, alongside financial services reforms introducing clear rules for stablecoin issuance, tokenisation of real-world assets, and an Open Banking framework to strengthen the Mauritius International Financial Centre innovation credentials.
Tackling investment constraints and attracting new talents
The Prime Minister underscored that addressing investment constraints is a priority, and pledged that the EDB would undertake a comprehensive review to streamline permit and licensing procedures, supported by a new Business Facilitation Bill. The introduction of a “silent agreement” principle should also improve certainty for investors.
To attract foreign talent, the Government will develop a comprehensive migration policy and introduce a Golden Visa scheme targeting high value sectors such as fintech, global treasury, AI, biotechnology and renewable energy. While tax incentives will be offered, individuals will not be fully tax-exempt. This appears somewhat inconsistent with revised personal income tax provisions, which raise the effective top rate to 35% on personal income exceeding Rs 12 million per annum – potentially discouraging high-income investors.
Clarifying the corporate tax regime
The Budget extends the 10-year tax holiday for captive insurance companies by an additional five years. It also clarifies the qualified domestic minimum top-up tax (QMDTT), confirming that investment funds and real estate investment vehicles acting as parent entities of a multinational enterprise (MNE) will be exempt from QDMTT.
A new compliance agreement between taxpayers and the tax authority may further streamline processes.
However, changes to the Corporate Climate Responsibility levy represent a significant setback for the global business sector. Unused tax credits, including foreign tax credits, will no longer be offsetable, and payments under the Advance Payment System will become payable on a quarterly basis in the upcoming fiscal year.
Revised rules on directors’ liability will bring greater comfort to the industry by extending immunity and protection from personal liability to officers not in executive management positions.
Overall, the tax measures present a mixed picture, with some uncertainty remaining. A new High-Level Committee, to be established under the aegis of the Ministry of Finance, will conduct a comprehensive review of the tax system, supported by international experts.
Balancing fiscal pressures with growth ambitions
The Prime Minister’s path toward fiscal consolidation is the real story of this budget, where he noted that interest payments accounted for 10.7% of total Government expenditure in 2025-2026. In response, he introduced means-testing for state pensions – a highly sensitive reform that may carry political risks.
With its initial honeymoon period behind it, the Government is placing innovation at the heart of policy measures to drive Mauritius’ next phase of growth.
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