India seeks to stamp down on Mauritius tax-treaty abuse

Scientists said Sunday they had found traces of a micro-continent hidden underneath the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius. The slab, dubbed Mauritia, was probably formed around 61-83 million years ago after Madagascar split from India, but eventually broke up and became smothered by thick lava deposits, they said.

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Mauritius's Finance Minister Xavier Duval said on Tuesda

Governments need to modernise their tax systems to catch international companies that dodge paying corporation tax, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has warned. The ease with which companies shift profits around the world to offshore havens shows that tax authorities need to step up their anti-avoidance efforts or risk losing billions of pounds in much-needed revenues, said the Paris-based thinktank in a report on Tuesday.

The Indian government has issued draft guidelines to clarify controversial tax-avoidance rules that spooked foreign investors and prompted a capital outflow at a critical time for the economy.The guidelines released late Thursday recommended that the tax provisions be applied from April next year -- rather than retroactively as some had feared -- and that the onus of proving any wrongdoing lay with the authorities.

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Tourist arrivals in Mauritius rose 2.3 percent in September from a year earlier, boosted by higher visitor numbers from neighbouring Reunion Island, official data showed on Tuesday. Tourism, a cornerstone of the Indian Ocean island's $10 billion economy, is expected to account for 7.9 percent of gross domestic product in 2012, down from 8.4 percent last year. Statistics Mauritius said arrivals from french speaking Reunion grew 39.8 percent to 6,019. Visitors from Europe, which accounts for around two thirds of arrivals, fell 9. ...