English: Monaco, Palais

Monaco, Palais (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Monaco is more than just a beautiful city state on the Mediterranean Sea; for financial reasons, it is one of the most popular places for Europeans to relocate to. The financial benefits really are considerable, and it’s no surprise that Monaco boasts the world’s highest GDP per capita rate, lowest poverty rate, and highest rate of millionaires and billionaires per capita. It’s famous for its standard of living.

So what exactly is it that makes residents so very well-off?

  • No Income Tax – Residents of Monaco do not have to pay income tax, which can have an enormous impact on the take-home pay of the average person. With an incredible 0% unemployment rate, nearly everyone benefits from this great bonus. Average wages are very high too, so income is considerable to begin with.
  • No Capital Gains Tax – The property market in Monaco is particularly healthy because there isn’t a capital gains tax for its residents. Property is also among the most valuable in the world, at an average of $65,600 per square metre.
  • No Wealth Tax – While not applicable in the UK, several other countries, including France, Switzerland and The Netherlands impose a wealth tax, which is not used in Monaco. For this reason, many people from France relocate and transfer their assets to Monaco in order to avoid the tax.
  • No Inheritance Tax – Direct heirs do not have to pay tax on inheritance in Monaco, which could be a huge sum of money in many countries.
  • Location – Monaco is located within close proximity of Europe’s major business centres. London, Paris and Zurich are easily accessible by plane. This makes the city extremely popular as a place to run a business from. The weather is of course very pleasant all year round.
  • Security – Monaco’s business and banking system is known to be very secure, and regulation is thorough, as can be learned from the residency application process. This is obviously of great importance to the wealthy residents of the city. Crime rates are amongst the lowest in the world.
  • Business – While Monaco itself has an economy based mainly on luxury goods, services and tourism, many European and International businesses enjoy operating successful branches and offices in the city, due to relatively lenient business taxes. This is another reason Monaco is a prime location to conduct business.
Albert II, Prince of Monaco

Albert II, Prince of Monaco (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Becoming a certified resident of Monaco is not as simple as just getting up and moving, despite being an EU member. Preserving Monaco’s social and economic quality is important, and as such, checks are carried out to a very high standard. A Monaco bank account is required, and banks generally require an initial deposit of at least €300,000.

In addition, prospective residents must be able to prove that they’ve had no criminal record in the previous 5 years. For these reasons, people often choose to use to use a company to aid in the relocation process, and you can visit Ebc-trust.com for more about the process involved with moving to Monaco.