Maldives bets on tax-free $8.8B digital hub developed by Qatar

A new $8.8 billion financial oasis is rising in the Maldives with a focus on blockchain and digital assets, and it’s entirely tax-free.

MBS Global Investments, the Dubai-based family office of Qatar’s Sheikh Nayef Bin Eid Al Thani, will co-develop the Maldives International Finance Centre in Malé with the Maldivian government, Bloomberg reports. The completion date is scheduled for 2030.

The project promises zero corporate taxes, tax-free inheritance and no residency requirements.

It will include key features such as a 3,500-seat conference center, residential and office towers and access to multi-currency and private offshore banking.

The project is expected to generate over $1 billion in revenue within five years, a potential lifeline for the Maldives as it grapples with rising external debt and a deteriorating credit rating.

Bahrain imposing 15% tax on multinationals to obey OECD

Visions of the Gulf as a tax-free haven are rapidly fading.

Bahrain is the latest member of the GCC to introduce corporate taxes, imposing a new 15% profit tax on multinational corporations starting in January.

The new taxes will be limited to the largest companies –  whose annual global revenue exceeds $830 million. 

The move brings Bahrain in line with new OECD reforms requiring member-nations to ensure large multinational enterprises pay taxes in every country where they operate.

It aims to address issues of international competition arising from the digitalization and globalization of the economy, according to the OECD.