Tax
Employment and business taxes introduced in 2014; no VAT
Nauru had almost no direct taxation until 2014, when employment and services tax and business profits tax were introduced. There is still no value added tax; import duties do the indirect work.
Key rules
- Deadline — Employment and services tax is withheld and remitted monthly
- Deadline — Business tax returns are filed annually with the Department of Finance
Governing law
- Employment and Services Tax Act 2014 (s. 6)
- Business Tax Act 2016
- Revenue Administration Act 2014
- Customs Act 2014
In practice
For most of its independent history Nauru levied essentially no income tax, funded first by phosphate royalties and later by hosting arrangements — so historical statements that Nauru is a no-tax jurisdiction were once accurate and are now out of date. The 2014 and 2016 reforms introduced employment and services tax withheld at source and a business profits tax, administered under a new revenue administration framework. There is no VAT or GST; consumption is taxed through customs and excise duties, which matters because nearly all goods are imported. There is no capital gains tax and no inheritance tax, and land cannot be sold in any event.