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Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Starmer's Chagos 'surrender' deal helps Mauritius top destination list for global super-rich thanks to tax cuts paid for by Britain's billions
Mauritius has topped a global league table of desirable destinations for the super-rich, thanks to tax cuts paid for by Keir Starmer 's Chagos Islands 'surrender'. The tiny Indian Ocean nation is tied with Monaco at the head of Nomad Capitalist's Freedom Index 2025 after announcing plans to abolish income tax using money handed over by British taxpayers. The Prime Minister last month signed an agreement to cede sovereignty of the strategically-important Indian Ocean archipelago. The deal will see the UK lease back a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest of the islands, with Britain paying Mauritius an average of £101million a year for 99 years. In its inaugural Freedom Index Nomad, which brands itself a 'boutique tax and citizenship consultancy' for high and ultra-high net-worth individuals, said Mauritius had 'sensible taxation, a robust legal system and near-zero violent crime, giving investors a stable bridge between Africa and Asia '. Switzerland, Portugal and Ireland rounded out the top five, with the UK 21st and the United States joint 29th under Donald Trump. It came as Foreign Secretary today introduces a bill to hand over the British Indian Ocean Territory to Mauritius. Tory shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said: 'It's a £30 billion tax on British taxpayers. 'Working people across Britain will pay the government of Mauritius to give them British territory, and deliver tax cuts to the people of Mauritius.' Mauritius will use almost £500million of the UK payments to help clear its national debt. This will allow the east African country to abolish income tax entirely for 81 per cent of employed Mauritians and raise minimum salaries. It has also been pointed out how, under the Chagos Islands deal, UK taxpayers are now funding more than 4 per cent of the Mauritian government's total budget. Nomad Capitalist research associate, Javier Correa, said its index 'educates and empowers high-net-worth individuals and families on their journey to live more freely'. 'While the West still preaches liberty, countries like the UK and US have become poster children for bloated bureaucracy, rising taxation, and the mismanagement of public finances,' he said. 'From entrepreneurs to investors, globally minded citizens need to understand that the Western world has changed and they may need to look elsewhere, so the Nomad Capitalist Freedom Index is a blueprint for them to go where they are treated best.' It aims to highlight places 'where personal liberty, financial sovereignty and lifestyle flexibility still exist and thrive - where global citizens can actually live life on their own terms'. To accompany the treaty, MPs will need to sign off on a Bill to wind up the current governance of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). The treaty will only come into force once the legislation is 'in place', according to the Government. It follows a 2019 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice, which said the UK should cede control. As well as establishing a £40 million fund for Chagossians expelled from the islands, the UK has agreed to pay Mauritius at least £120 million annually during the 99-year agreement. The Government, however, estimates the bill will be lower at around £101 million a year, while critics argue it will be much higher.
HKFP
02-05-2025
- Politics
- HKFP
Hong Kong falls to 140th in press freedom index with historic low score, entering ‘red zone' for first time
Hong Kong has tumbled five places in the annual Reporters Without Borders Press (RSF) Freedom Index, entering the 'red zone' – meaning a 'very serious' situation – for the first time, alongside China. The city fell five places to 140th place, sandwiched between Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan. China fell six places to 178th place – only North Korea and Eritrea ranked lower. 'At RSF, we have never seen such a sharp and rapid deterioration in the press freedom record of any country or territory,' the watchdog's Asia-Pacific Bureau Advocacy Officer Aleksandra Bielakowska told HKFP. 'Today, Hong Kong increasingly resembles neighbouring China, the world's largest prison for journalists.' Hong Kong saw sharp dips in all five of the watchdog's indicators: political, legal, economic, socio-cultural and legal. The free expression NGO said: 'The main factor behind this decline is the deterioration of the political indicator (-7.28 pts), notably due to the September 2024 conviction for 'sedition' of Chung Pui-kuen and Patrick Lam, former editors of Stand News. This is the first sedition case against the media since the UK handed over the territory in 1997.' Ahead of Saturday's Press Freedom Day, Bielakowska told HKFP on Friday that '[i]mprisonment, harassment, doxxing, administrative pressure, surveillance and lack of financial sustainability all define a grim daily reality for the valiant few journalists who decided to stay in the territory. This often leads Hongkongers towards another path: reporting from exile.' She cited the protracted national security case against Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai, the enactment of a local security law in 2024 and the fact that hundreds of journalists have fled, with foreign reporters facing 'visa weaponization' akin to China. 'As the situation keeps deteriorating in Hong Kong, we cannot forget about those who, despite the pressure, continue the almost-impossible work of covering stories from within the city. Not only do these intrepid professionals face government pressure, but they also experience a hard time making ends meet,' Bielakowska said. 'They are also often barred from covering official events and entering press conferences. It is clear that authorities are trying everything in their power to dissuade all critical voices from reporting on the ground.' Last April, Taiwan-based Bielakowska was barred from entering Hong Kong. She was detained, searched and questioned for six hours at the airport. The Immigration Department said it would not comment on individual cases. The government has said that press freedom remains guaranteed. In 2022, Chief Executive John Lee said press freedom was 'in the pocket' of Hongkongers but 'nobody is above the law.' Although he has told the press to ' tell a good Hong Kong story,' government departments have been reluctant to respond to story pitches. Norway topped the 2025 index, followed by the Netherlands and Estonia. HKFP has reached out to the government for comment. A 'new low point' In 42 countries – home to 56.7 per cent of the world's population the press freedom situation was classified as 'very serious' by RSF this year, with fewer than 1 per cent of the world's population living in territories were press freedom is fully guaranteed. 'For over ten years, the Index's results have warned of a worldwide decline in press freedom. In 2025, a new low point emerged: the average score of all assessed countries fell below 55 points, falling into the category of a 'difficult' situation,' a press release said. 'For the first time in the history of the Index, the conditions for practising journalism are poor in half of the world's countries and satisfactory in fewer than one in four.' This year's report also warned of economic threats to press freedom, with tech giants having dominance over the dissemination of information and ad revenue: 'These online platforms further hamper the information space by contributing to the spread of manipulated and misleading content, amplifying disinformation,' it said, naming companies such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft. Editorial interference and media ownership concentration had also been a factor in the deterioration of press freedom, with serious threats to media plurality in 46 countries. The index said that 'funding is now directed toward pro-government media' in Hong Kong, Peru and Tunisia. The index also referenced the case of Palestine, where the Israeli army has killed nearly 200 media professionals and imposed a media blackout. RSF uses a scoring system based on a quantitative tally of abuses against media and journalists in connection with their work, and a qualitative analysis of the situation in each country or territory based on the responses of press freedom specialists. Press freedom in Hong Kong Last week, Channel C was the latest independent media outlet to cease operations following financial strife and the arrest of one of its parent company's directors for alleged government loan fraud. Over 1,000 journalists have lost their jobs in Hong Kong, whilst many have emigrated. Meanwhile, the city's government-funded broadcaster RTHK has adopted new editorial guidelines, purged its archives and axed news and satirical shows.
