No matter how much your salary is, there is no tax, and education and health services are free… How did small Brunei become such a rich country?

PM Modi is on a visit to Brunei. This country with a population of 4.50 lakh people is special in many ways. The lifestyle of the people here is high class. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of this small country is included in the list of the richest people in the world, who spend Rs 16 lakh on a haircut. His hair stylists are called in privately chartered planes. Not only this, Brunei is also called a tax haven. The government does not levy tax on the personal income of the people here. This relief is given not only to the citizens here but also to the expatriates.

Education and health services are being provided free of cost. In such a situation, the question is how did Brunei become so rich that it is not even collecting taxes from the common man and why is the life of the people here luxurious?

Why is Brunei called a tax haven?

The rules of Brunei are such that they make it a special country. Due to its tax policy and confidential laws, Brunei is called a tax haven, which has been attracting business investors along with giving relief to the common man. There is no tax on the personal income of the people here. In such a situation, this country is special for those people who want to avoid tax. Here, a corporate tax of 18.5 percent is levied.

To promote trade, special exemptions are given in corporate tax to foreign companies and international trade. This is the reason why foreign companies like to start business here. No tax is levied on the profit from investment.

Another specialty of Brunei is its confidentiality law. No foreigner can get information about the account holders here because this information is kept confidential. Foreign tax agencies can't get information about the accounts in Brunei. People consider keeping their money in accounts here a safe option.

There is no monitoring of currency exchange here. In this way, it becomes easy to take capital out of the country and bring it back here. This is the reason why Brunei is also called a tax haven. Due to the relief in education, health, and taxes, people here get a chance to save a lot. As a result, their lifestyle is high class.

How did this country become so rich?

Brunei is counted among the richest countries in the world. The reason behind this is the discovery of 1929 which took this country to great heights. In 1929, oil was discovered in the Seria area of ​​Brunei. The British Malayan Petroleum Company dug the first well in Brunei, which is now called Royal Dutch Shell. Oil gave Brunei a special identity and this country emerged as an important oil producer. Oil and natural gas are the foundation of the economy. Half of the GDP here comes from oil and gas.

Brunei included itself in the category of prosperous countries only through oil and gas. Gradually, the income from this was invested in other sectors so that the economy here does not depend only on oil and natural gas. Its effect was also seen.