page_title: Monaco
section_title: Taxes
hierarchical_section_title: Monaco / Economy / Taxes
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Maquette de la Tour Odeon insérée dans le site
context_page_description: Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a sovereign city-state, country, and microstate on the French Riviera in Western Europe. It is bordered by France to the north, east and west, and by the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The principality is home to 38,682 residents and is widely recognised for being one of the most expensive and wealthiest places in the world. The official language is French, although Monégasque, English and Italian are spoken and understood by a sizeable group.
  With an area of 2.1 km², it is one of the smallest sovereign states in Europe and the second-smallest in the world, after the Vatican City. Its 19,009 inhabitants per square kilometre, make it the most densely-populated sovereign state in the world. Monaco has a land border of 5.47 km, the world's shortest coastline of approximately 3.83 km, and a width that varies between 1,700 and 349 m. The highest point in the country is a narrow pathway named Chemin des Révoires on the slopes of Mont Agel, in the Les Révoires Ward, which is 161 metres above sea level. The principality is about 15 km from the state border with Italy.
context_section_description: Monaco has high social-insurance taxes, payable by both employers and employees. The employers' contributions are between 28% and 40% (averaging 35%) of gross salary, including benefits, and employees pay a further 10% to 14% (averaging 13%).
   
  Monaco has never levied income tax on individuals, and foreigners are thus able to use it as a "tax haven" from their own country's high taxes, because as an independent country, Monaco is not obligated to pay taxes to other countries. 
  The absence of a personal income tax has attracted many wealthy "tax refugee" residents from European countries, who derive the majority of their income from activity outside Monaco. Celebrities, such as Formula One drivers, attract most of the attention but the vast majority are lesser-known business people. 
  However, due to a bilateral treaty with France, French citizens who reside in Monaco must still pay income and wealth taxes to France.  The principality also actively discourages the registration of foreign corporations, charging a 33 per cent corporation tax on profits, unless they can show that at least three-quarters of turnover is generated within Monaco.  Unlike classic tax havens, Monaco does not offer offshore financial services.
  In 1998, the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), issued a first report on the consequences of the financial systems of known tax havens. Monaco did not appear in the list of these territories until 2004, when the OECD became indignant regarding the Monegasque situation and denounced it in a report, along with Andorra, Liechtenstein, Liberia, and the Marshall Islands.  The report underlined Monaco's lack of co-operation regarding financial information disclosure and availability.  Later, Monaco overcame the OECD's objections and was removed from the "grey list" of uncooperative jurisdictions.  In 2009, Monaco went a step farther, and secured a place on the "white list", after signing twelve information exchange treaties with other jurisdictions.
  In 2000, the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) stated: "The anti-money laundering system in Monaco is comprehensive. However, difficulties have been encountered with Monaco by countries in international investigations on serious crimes that appear to be linked also with tax matters. In addition, the FIU of Monaco (SICCFIN) suffers a great lack of adequate resources. The authorities of Monaco have stated that they will provide additional resources to SICCFIN." 
  Also in 2000, a report by the French parliamentarians Arnaud Montebourg and Vincent Peillon stated that Monaco had relaxed policies with respect to money laundering, including within its casino, and that the government of Monaco had been placing political pressure on the judiciary, so that alleged crimes were not being properly investigated. In its Progress Report of 2005, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) identified Monaco, along with 36 other territories, as a tax haven, but in its FATF report of the same year it took a positive view of Monaco's measures against money-laundering.
  The Council of Europe also decided to issue reports naming tax havens. Twenty-two territories, including Monaco, were thus evaluated between 1998 and 2000 on a first round. Monaco was the only territory that refused to perform the second round, between 2001 and 2003, whereas the 21 other territories had planned implementing the third and final round, planned between 2005 and 2007.
caption: Luxury residential areas in Monaco
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