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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
Islamic Republic of Mauritania
Nouakchott
- Arabic
- French
4.403 million
Mauritanian ouguiya
.mr
+222
Mauritanian ouguiya
STATUTORY LABOR REQUIREMENTS
Probation Period
- Probationary period cannot exceed 1 month
Annual Leave
- Every worker, having or not his/her habitual residence in Mauritania, acquires the right to paid annual leave after 12 months of effective service.
- The worker is entitled to 1.5 day of leave per month of effective service.
- Thus, employees receive 18 days of paid annual leave
Public Holidays
- New Year's Day (1st January)
- Labor Day (1st May)
- Eid al-Fitr
- Africa Day (25th May)
- Eid al-Adha
- Islamic New Year
- Prophet's Birthday
- Independence Day (28th November)
Maternity Leave
- In virtue of the pregnancy, every woman is entitled to maternity leave for the period of 14 consecutive week, of which 8 weeks shall be taken after the birth.
- The duration of 8 weeks after the birth is irreducible no matter when the birth takes place.
Paternity Leave
- There is no statutory paternity leave
Sick Leave
- Employees receive 5 fully paid days of sick leave
Work Hours
- The legal working time cannot exceed 40 hours per week, nor 8 hours per day.
Overtime
- Overtime is paid at a premium of 150% of the hourly pay rate.
Notice Period
- Notification of termination shall be made in writing to the other party and shall set out the reason for the termination.
- The duration of the notice period varies depending on the seniority of the employee.
- In practice, it means that a senior employee is entitled to a long notice period.
Severance
- Severance pay is dependent on the length of service and is often equivalent to the pay of 5 working days
13th Month Salary in Brazil
- No
- There is no statutory requirement to pay the 13th or the 14th month salary.
- Employees may agree on bonuses with their employers.
INCOME TAX
- Mauritanian tax residents are taxable on their worldwide income.
- However, foreign income will not be taxable in Mauritania if the taxpayer can prove that such income has been taxed in another country.
- Non-residents are only taxed on their Mauritanian-source income.
- The following are the progressive tax rates for employment income and pensions.
|
Taxable remuneration (MRU) |
Tax rate (%) |
|
From 6,000 to 9,000 |
15% |
|
Between 9,000 and 21,000 |
25% |
|
Exceeding 21,000 |
40% |
DEDUCTIBLE EXPENSES
- The GTC doesn’t provide employment expenses that are not subject to tax.
- The gross salary is taxed without professional expenses.
IMMIGRATION
- Foreign nationals who intend to travel to Mauritania have a variety of different visas to choose from based on the purpose of their visit.
- The common visa categories include:
-
- Tourist visas
- Business visas
- Work visas
- Any employees who will be relocating to Mauritania from another country will need to obtain a work visa before starting in their new position.
- Foreign nationals intending to work in Mauritania for over 60 days must obtain a Work Permit, the validity of which depends on the contract length, but generally the A license is valid for two years and the B license is valid for four years.
- However, in current practice, only a six months’ license is issued.
|
Type of Visa/Permit |
Documentation |
Validity |
Eligibility |
|
Tourist Visa |
|
3 months |
|
|
Business Visa |
|
3 months |
|
|
Work Permit |
|
6 months/ 2 years/
4 years |
|
VALUE ADDED TAX
- Subject to certain exclusions, most commercial operations are subject to a 16% VAT.
- Petroleum products are subject to VAT at a 20% rate.
- Telephony is subject to VAT at an 18% rate.
- Exportation of goods and services is subject to VAT at a 0% rate.
- A 14% special tax on financial activities (mainly banking, money transfers, and change operations) is applicable instead of VAT.
|
VAT |
|
|
Higher Rate |
20% |
|
Higher Rate |
18% |
|
Standard Rate |
16% |
|
Reduced Rate |
14% |
|
Zero Rate |
0% |
WITHHOLDING TAX
Certain payments to domestic companies and individuals and non-resident companies/investors are subject to WHT at the following rates (the tax is a final tax for non-residents (corporates and individuals) and the rate may be reduced under an applicable tax treaty)
|
Payment |
Residents |
Non-residents |
|
Dividends |
10% |
10% |
|
Interest |
10% |
10% |
|
Royalties |
0% |
3% |
|
Director Fees |
- |
0% |
|
Technical Service Fees |
25% |
15% |
TERMINATION
- Contracts of employment of unspecified duration may be terminated at any time at the will of either party.
- Such terminations shall be subject to the condition that prior notice is given by the party taking the initiative of terminating the contract.
- Notification of termination shall be made in writing to the other party and shall set out the reason for the termination.
- The duration of the notice period varies depending on the seniority of the employee.
- In practice, it means that a senior employee is entitled to a long notice period.
- It should be noted that an employee who is dismissed for gross misconduct is not entitled to either notice payment or severance payment.
- Fixed-term contracts cannot be terminated prior to their expiry except in the case of gross misconduct, force majeure, or by the written consent of both parties.
- In case of gross misconduct, a notice period is not required.
- In case of unfair dismissal, an employee is entitled to receive compensation.
STATUTORY BENEFITS
- These are mandatory benefits as postulated by law
- These include probationary period, annual leave, public holidays, sick 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 |
|
Sick Leave |
|
Overtime Pay |
|
Notice Period |
|
Severance Pay |
|
Social Security Benefits |
PAYMENTS AND INVOICING
- The fiscal year is the calendar year.
- WHTs are due by the 15th day of the month following the withholding month.
- Individuals subject to personal business income tax based on actual revenues should file the tax form by 31 March of the year following the end of the fiscal year.
- They should pay the tax due in in the following three instalments:
-
- 40% by 31 March.
- 30% by 30 June.
- The balance by 30 September.
- Individuals subject to the lump-sum personal business income tax regime will be required to declare and pay the tax due by 31 March of the year following the end of the fiscal year.
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 Mauritania ranked 152nd in the World in 2019 in terms of ease of doing business.
