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- Basic Facts
- Statutory Labor Requirements
- Employee Income Tax In Brazil
- Employee Social Security In Brazil
- Deductible Expenses In Brazil
- Immigration In Brazil
- Value Added Tax (VAT) In Brazil
- Withholding Tax In Brazil
- Terminating Employee In Brazil
- Statutory Employee Benefits In Brazil
- Payroll In Brazil
- Ease Of Doing Business In Brazil
- Business Opportunities In Brazil Section
- Why Use Global Expansion To Hire Your Employees In Brazil
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BASIC COUNTRY FACTS
Republic of Liberia
Monrovia
- Liberian English
4.46 million
Liberian dollar
.lr
+231
Liberian dollar
STATUTORY LABOR REQUIREMENTS
Probation Period
- Under Liberian employment law, probationary periods may not be less than 1 month and cannot exceed 3 months.
Annual Leave
- Workers who have been with the same employer for 3 years are entitled to 2 weeks leave (by number of working days), increasing to 3 weeks for 4 years of service.
- Employees in 5 years of service with the same employer are entitled to 4 weeks leave.
Public Holidays
- New Year's Day (1st January)
- Armed Forces Day (11th February)
- National Decoration Day (11th March)
- Joseph Jenkins Roberts' Birthday (16th March)
- Fast and Prayer Day (10th April)
- National Unification Day (14th May)
- Independence Day (27th July)
- National Flag Day (24th August)
- Thanksgiving (5th November)
- William V.S. Tubman's Birthday (30th November)
- Christmas Day (25th December)
Maternity Leave
- Female employees are entitled to 14 weeks of paid maternity leave
Paternity Leave
- Fathers are entitled to 5 days of unpaid paternity leave
Sick Leave
- Liberia does not have guaranteed sick leave.
Work Hours
- Working hours cannot exceed more than 8 hours per day or 48 hours a week.
- Employees are also entitled to an uninterrupted period of 24 hours’ rest per week.
Overtime
- Hours worked in excess of the normal working hours shall be considered overtime.
- The rate of compensation for overtime should not be less than one and one-quarter times the basic wage per hour.
Notice Period
- An employer may terminate the employment contract provided he or she gives at least 2 weeks written notice (casual employee) or 4 weeks (salaried employee).
- Compensation in lieu of notice may be given.
Severance
- Unless guilty of a gross breach of misconduct, employees are entitled only to severance payments equivalent to their remaining wages due.
- Employees may also be entitled to redundancy/severance payments in cases where the company is bankrupt, in liquidation etc.
13th Month Salary in Brazil
- No
- There is no statutory requirement to pay the 13th or the 14th month salary.
- There is no evidence that bonuses are customary, however government employees are more likely to receive benefits.
INCOME TAX
- Liberian residents are taxed on a worldwide basis.
- Individuals resident in Liberia must pay tax on their employment income, regardless of where the services are performed or the employer is located.
- Non-residents are only subject to tax on their Liberian-sourced income.
- Individuals are subject to Liberian personal income tax on income from the following categories:
-
- Income from business and self-employment
- Income from employment
- Income from capital gains
- Dividends, interest, royalties
- Non-cash benefits
- Non-residents are taxed at 15%
- Residents are taxed at the following rates
|
Taxable Income |
Rate (%) |
|
0 - LIB 70,000 |
0 |
|
LIB 70,001 - 200,000 |
5 |
|
LIB 200,001 - 800,000 |
LIB 6500 + 15% |
|
Above LIB 800,001 |
LIB 96,500 + 25% |
DEDUCTIBLE EXPENSES
Business Deductions
- A taxpayer is permitted a deduction for the ordinary expenses of producing income during the tax year.
- Such expenses include among others; depreciation expense or amortization of capital, losses incurred in a business and sustained during the tax year, business interest on business indebtedness etc.
|
Deductible Expenses |
|
IMMIGRATION
- Persons from countries other than ECOWAS (Economic Community of Western African States) are required to obtain a visa to enter Liberia.
- The most common types of visas that the Liberian government issues include:
-
- Tourist visas
- Business visas
- Diplomatic and official visas
- Foreign nationals who intend to work in Liberia will typically need to submit the following documents during the visa application process:
-
- A passport with at least one blank page and six months of validity
- Two recent passport photographs
- A signed and completed visa application form
- Proof of medical insurance for the duration of the applicant’s stay in Liberia
- Evidence of sufficient financial means
- Proof of accommodations for travel, such as a flight itinerary
- Proof of accommodations in Liberia
- A certificate of immunization against yellow fever
- A letter containing information about the applicant’s employment contract with a business in Liberia, which should be signed by a representative of the company
- Employees will also need a Liberian work permit.
- The requirements for the permit include:
- A completed application form
- An employment offer from a company in Liberia
- A cover letter from the applicant’s employer
- Two passport photos
- A bank statement from the employer
- A background check from the applicant’s country of residence
-
- Professional qualifications
|
Type of Visa/Permit |
Documentation |
Validity |
Eligibility |
|
Business Visa |
|
Single entry:3 months Multiple entry:
- 1 year; 2 years; 3 years |
|
|
Work Permit |
|
1 year |
|
VALUE ADDED TAX
- GST is imposed on the supply of taxable goods and services in Liberia.
- Taxable persons charge GST on their taxable supplies (output tax) and are charged with GST on goods which they receive (input tax).
- The current standard rate of GST imposed on taxable goods and services is 7%.
|
VAT |
|
|
Standard Rate |
7% |
|
Zero Rate |
0% |
WITHHOLDING TAX
- Liberia imposes withholding taxes (WHT) on payments made to both resident (R) and non-resident (NR) companies on certain classes of income earned
- The withholding tax rates are as follows
|
WHT |
|
|
Dividends |
15% |
|
Royalties |
15% |
|
Interest |
15% |
|
Natural resource payments |
15% |
|
Rental income |
10%/15% |
|
Management and consultancy fees |
15% |
|
Contract services |
10%/15% |
TERMINATION
- An employee may be dismissed if he or she is guilty of a “gross breach of duty” or a “total lack of capability to perform”.
- Examples of “gross breach of duty” include:
-
- Unprovoked assault on the employer
- Persistent disregard for safety measures imposed by the employer
- Disclosure of company working secrets
- An employer may terminate the employment contract provided he or she gives at least 2 weeks written notice (casual employee) or 4 weeks (salaried employee).
- Compensation in lieu of notice may be given.
- However, employees guilty of a gross breach of duty may be terminated without notice or severance pay
STATUTORY BENEFITS
- These are mandatory benefits as postulated by law
- These include probationary period, annual leave, public holidays, paternity leave, maternity leave, overtime pay, notice period, and severance pay
- Statutory benefits also include social security benefits
|
Statutory Benefits |
|
Probationary Period |
|
Annual Leave |
|
Public Holidays |
|
Maternity Leave |
|
Paternity Leave |
|
Notice Period |
|
Severance Pay |
|
Social Security Benefits |
PAYMENTS AND INVOICING
- The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), in charge of administering revenues in Liberia.
- The tax year for both individuals and partnerships is the calendar year (January 1 to December 31).
- The employer deducts the tax and pays it to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) by the 10th day of the month following the month in which the deduction was or should have been made.
EASE OF DOING BUSINESS
- The ease of doing business index is an index created by Simeon Djankov, an economist at the Central and Eastern Europe sector of the World Bank Group.
- Higher rankings (a low numerical value) indicate better, usually simpler, regulations for businesses and stronger protections of property rights.
- According to the World Bank Liberia ranked 175th in the World in 2019 in terms of ease of doing business.
