Finance PS clarifies corporate social responsibility and tourism marketing taxes |21 February 2013

Explaining the mechanisms of the CSR tax to the press yesterday, finance principal secretary Bertrand Belle said the tax at 0.5% of annual turnover is paid monthly – based on estimates for the previous year – to the Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC).

A special fund will soon be set up, with its own management committee, which shall decide how the money collected is used.
Some companies are exempted from the CRS such as the Seychelles International Business Authority (Siba), the Seychelles Public Transport Corporation (SPTC) and the National Council for Children (NCC).

Also exempted are revenue earned from residential rental, which shall continue to be charged a flat rate of 15% across the board.
Mr Belle said the CRS tax is deductible from the amount subjected to the Value Added Tax (Vat) for registered businesses falling into that category.

He explained that for a business paying tax monthly on R100,000 turnover, Vat will amount to R13,000, while CSR tax, which will be calculated on the remaining R87,000, will come to around R435.

Mr Belle said companies and other business ventures may continue to make donations for social and welfare causes, but this will not affect their dues to the CSR tax.
“The two are distinct,” he said.

On the tourism marketing tax, he said the rate of 0.5% applies to all tourism-related businesses, benefitting from concessions under the Tourism Investment Act (TIA) in 2012. It also applies to all commercial banks, insurance companies (except brokers) and telecommunication companies.
Mr Belle made clear that while the tourism marketing tax applies to these categories, they are also liable to the CSR tax, making a total of 1%.