Tax
Income Tax Act 2012 with VAGST at 15%
Income tax under the Income Tax Act 2012 administered by the Ministry for Revenue, with consumption taxed through the Value Added Goods and Services Tax at 15%. No capital gains or inheritance tax.
Key rules
- Deadline — Income tax returns are due by 31 March following the 31 December year end
- Deadline — VAGST returns are filed monthly above the registration threshold
Governing law
- Income Tax Act 2012 (s. 9)
- Value Added Goods and Services Tax Act 1992
- Tax Administration Act 2012
- Stamp Duty Ordinance 1932
In practice
Residence for individuals turns on presence and permanent place of abode, with residents taxed on worldwide income. The consumption tax is called VAGST rather than VAT or GST, which is a frequent source of confusion in comparative tables, and it operates as a conventional invoice-credit value added tax at 15%. There is no capital gains tax and no inheritance or estate duty. Remittances from the Samoan diaspora are economically central but are not themselves taxable income, a point worth stating because it is often assumed otherwise.