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Do you have a few billions spare and want to invest it abroad without being asked to pay taxes?
The tax haven of British Virgin Islands through which between USD 120-125 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) passes through every year is aiming to have a memorandum of understanding with India’s GIFT city to tap into the over USD 33 billon outward FDI market.
And that may well be one of the answers for you, if you are one of India’s growing tribe of Richie Riches looking for ways to invest abroad.
A delegation led by Natalio D Wheatley, Premier of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) met with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman on Monday night and followed it up with a meeting with top Indian investment lawyers led by Lalit Bhasin Tuesday morning.
Members of the British Virgin Island’s delegation told UNI that “the aim is to sign an MoU with Gujarat’s GIFT city as this would help channelize financial flows.” Officials explained that without a tax avoidance treaty Indian investment in BVI where incomes enjoyed a zero-tax benefit, “repatriation of income from Virgin Islands would still mean having to pay high level of Indian taxes at home.”
The delegation which includes the Caribbean nation’s deputy prime minster Lorna Smith OBE, will fly to GIFT city Gujarat late on Tuesday. Tax lawyers explained to UNI that “One way is to route investments to BVI through GIFT city where investors can enjoy a 100 per cent tax holiday for ten consecutive years.”
The other way is to have a Direct tax Avoidance Treaty on the lines of Singapore or Mauritius. However, Finance Ministry officials said that any DTAA agreement takes time to draw up so as to ensure that “black” money or proceeds of crime are not routed to a global tax haven. “The other way out of course is to follow in the footsteps of billionaires who have settled abroad rather than pay taxes in India,” a senior North bloc official said with a chuckle.
Wheatley told newspersons here on Tuesday, that his nation, “would like to increase our financial business with India, a major emerging economic power.” India received some USD 94.53 Billion FDI Inflow in 2025-, while Indian companies invested a record USD 33.29 billion abroad during the same financial year.
Top investing nations by FDI inflows into India were Singapore accounting for USD 19.8 billion, followed by United States at USD 11.17 billion and Mauritius at USD 3.5 billion. North Block officials explained that much of the investment flowing in from Singapore and Mauritius were actually monies flowing from elsewhere “but routed through these financial hubs in order to restructure taxes.” (UNI)
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