What do you need to know about Mauritius’ New Corporate Climate Responsibility Levy?
29 August 2024 - On 7 June 2024, a Corporate Climate Responsibility Levy (CCR Levy) was introduced as part of the Mauritius National Budget 2024/2025. The CCR Levy was subsequently gazetted in the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 on 27 July 2024.
The Mauritius government have stated that they intend to use the income from the CCR Levy to support national initiatives to protect, manage, invest and restore Mauritius’ natural ecosystem and combat the effects of climate change.
The government also announced that a Climate and Sustainability Fund, to be managed by a joint public-private committee, will be set up to implement this agenda. The Climate and Sustainability Fund will be open to donations from international organizations and individuals.
In the paragraphs below we will discuss which taxpayers are impacted by the new CCR Levy and its implications.
Who will be impacted?
The CCR Levy is applicable for companies with a turnover of MUR 50 million or more (Turnover Threshold). According to Mauritius tax law, turnover in this respect refers to a companies’ gross income, including any exempt income (such as capital gains), derived by a company from all its sources. Companies with a turnover of less than MUR 50 million will be exempted from the CCR levy.
The CCR Levy is extended to include Global Business Companies (GBC’s) and a société (a partnership, the interpretation of "company" in the Income Tax Act has been amended to include this).
Implications of the new Levy
Once the Turnover Threshold has been established, the basis on which the Levy will applied will be calculated, i.e., the chargeable income (according to Mauritius tax law). To be clear, exempt income is excluded from the basis on which the CCR levy is charged (e.g., capital gains are excluded).
The CCR Levy is 2% and applicable to a company’s chargeable income as from the year of assessment commencing on 1 July 2024. The CCR Levy shall be paid together with the annual return.