Vanuatu Executive Summary
Vanuatu
is a group of tropical islands on the eastern
seaboard of Australia, off the coast of Queensland,
with a mostly Melanesian population of 212,000
(July 2007 est.). The 80 islands are mountainous,
and some are volcanic. There are international
airports on the two main islands; most connections
are to Australia. The islands had British/French
governance until independence in 1980; languages
are English, French and Bislama (pidgin). The
time zone is GMT plus 11 hours. There is a uni-cameral
Parliament with a Westminster-model Prime Ministerial
government and an elected President. The legal
system is based on English common law with some
civil law influence.
Vanuatu's
economy, historically based on agriculture and
fishing, is now dependent on tourism and financial
services. Cruise liners call at the two deep-water
ports. GDP of $2,900 per head is low and growing
rather slowly, partly due to adverse climatic
and geological conditions. There is a strong contrast
between the relatively sophisticated capital Port
Vila, with its expatriate workers, and the subsistence
economy of most of the Ni-Vanuatu islanders. Most
goods are imported, and import duties and value-added
tax are the main sources of Government revenue.
The currency is the Vatu (VT), fixed against a
dollar-based currency basket. In recent years,
US$1 has been worth approximately VT100.
There
is no direct taxation in Vanuatu. Import and export
duties, registration fees, business license fees,
stamp duty, VAT and a tourist turnover tax generate
Government revenue. The offshore sector is well-developed,
with the IBC-style International Company being
the entity of choice. Banking, insurance, trust
management and electronic gaming are the most
important activities.
Vanuatu
has no tax treaties, and no international mutual
assistance treaties. There is domestic legislation
to counter money-laundering and which enables
international co-operation with investigators.
However, privacy is good with statutory protection,
and there is no crime of tax evasion since there
are no taxes.
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