Some sound reasons to consider a move to Vanuatu

• No currency control
• No income taxes
• No Corporate taxes
• No estate duty
• No succession duty
• No gift duty
• No capital gains tax
• No double tax agreements
• No withholding taxes
• No requirements for tax returns

Investing in Vanuatu’s Real Estate

Here are 10 reasons why land prices - Especially waterfront land prices - which have been moving steadily upwards in Vanuatu.

1. Many investors turn to real estate when the world currency markets become unstable, and the Asian recession and the hand over of Hong Kong to China generated considerable interest in Vanuatu.
2. The political and social problems in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Fiji and New Caledonia have turned investors away from these areas and Vanuatu is a highly viable alternative.
3. The Government of Vanuatu openly encourages foreign investment and has passed new legislation - such as the Strata Titles Act - to make it easier for people to invest with a reasonable chance of a good return.
4. The government has streamlined the Foreign Investment Board, Customs, and Immigration procedures to make the formalities of investing and taking up residency as painless as possible.
5. Unlike Fiji and New Caledonia, the nearest competitors in the tourism sector, Vanuatu is free of ethnic or colonialist problems. The small population is 99% ni-Vanuatu and while not everyone gets along all the time, relations between the islands people are about as good as you can find.
6. Crime is low, people friendly, and nobody has any reason to even consider terrorism.
7. The ni-Vanuatu people are happy to have real estate investors come to Vanuatu because the custom owners are the only ones who can own land. All foreigners must lease land from them and that, of course, means that they have an income - even if it is very modest.
8. Investors quickly realize that the land leasing arrangements actually work very well in Vanuatu. All leases must be registered in the central government Land Records Department. In the urban areas of Port Vila and Luganville, the government itself becomes the lessor on behalf of the custom owners. The government courts protect the interests of both the land owners and the lessee as efficiently as any land dispute court in the Western world and often better.
9. Leases are generally 75 years and the property lease can be renewed.
10. Waterfront property is always a limited commodity, especially in the best locations and it has been dwindling as new homes, resorts, hotels, and businesses are built.
    

An Excellent Land Ownership System

Until they understand how the system works, investors are sometimes concerned with the idea of leasing land as opposed to the Western concept of land ownership.

In fact, Western concepts of land ownership are hardly accurate. In most countries governments actually lease the land to individuals and companies but they call the lease payments "property taxes." If the "owner" fails to pay whatever taxes are assessed on the property, the government can and does confiscate the land.

By contrast, in Vanuatu, the government can't take the land from the indigenous people under any circumstances. But the government can and does act as an efficient and fair mediator between custom land owners and foreign investors.

The mere fact that real estate prices have been rising rapidly in Vanuatu proves their system works and works well.
You do not have to be a resident of Vanuatu or have employment in Vanuatu to purchase commercial or residential property and generate income from this property. You will not pay income taxes in Vanuatu on any income that your investment earns although the company will have to participate in the sales tax process and pay other government fees such as businesses licences etc.

The Process of buying land in Vanuatu

1. Sign an "Agreement for Sale and Purchase"
2. Pay the deposit into a trust account
3. Sign the Lease Transfer
4. Settle the transaction
5. Pay a Stamp Duty of 2% to the Government
6. Register the transfer at the Lands Records Department and pay 5% registration fee
7. Pay Solicitor's fees (usually 1%). This step can be avoided by allowing MACO to complete the transaction.

These costs are not applicable if the current lessee is a company or trust and the buyer simply buys the shares of the company or buys the trust with all its assets.

For more info visit:
Vanuatu Investment Promotion Authority
www.investinvanuatu.com

Hawkes Law: Vanuatu's longest established internationally connected accounting firm
www.hawkeslaw.com.vu