According to a new index published by the consulting firm Global Citizen Solutions (GCS), the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ranked first among countries worldwide in terms of tax favorability for global citizens.
The report, titled 'Tax Optimisation for Global Citizens,' was prepared by the firm's research division—the Global Intelligence Unit. It analyzed various jurisdictions based on 11 indicators grouped into three main blocks: tax burden, tax structure, and investment migration. These three aspects were assigned corresponding weights: 42.5% for tax burden, 42.5% for tax structure, and 15% for investment migration.
The UAE's leadership is attributed to a zero personal income tax rate, the application of a five percent VAT or consumption tax, and the absence of exit taxes for residents. Furthermore, global analytical centers highly rated the UAE on parameters such as quality of life, healthcare, safety, and overall security.
Antigua and Barbuda, Paraguay, Hong Kong, and the Bahamas also made the top five leaders. Among European jurisdictions in the top ten were Malta and Cyprus, which achieved this through preferential tax regimes rather than low nominal rates.
The central conclusion of the study is that the tax rate in a jurisdiction and the structure of its tax system are largely independent of each other. Uruguay, which sets a rate of 36 percent—closer to Western Europe than the Caribbean—demonstrated the best performance in tax structure across the entire sample, ranking 12th solely on this criterion.
Despite a 15 percent rate, Hungary placed 31st because it taxes residents on worldwide income without significant concessions for newcomers. The report identified two mechanisms contributing to a strong tax structure score: either the tax base completely excludes foreign income, as in Panama, Hong Kong, and Uruguay, or the tax is levied only on money transfers, as in Malta and Mauritius; as well as the application of a preferential regime on top of worldwide taxation, observed in Portugal, Italy, and Cyprus.
Arthur Saraiwa, founder and CEO of Global Citizen Solutions, noted that countries that avoid compromising between taxation and quality of life—such as Malta, Cyprus, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Mauritius, Switzerland, and Portugal—achieve this not through a zero-tax model. He added that they succeed by taxing on a territorial or remittance basis, or through a well-designed preferential regime, which allows them to fund public services essential for quality of life.
The study showed that jurisdictions with the lowest tax levies generally rank low in quality of life, meaning that tax savings are often achieved at the expense of reduced standards of living. Of the 48 jurisdictions studied, 31 do not levy any exit taxes. This pattern covers all Latin American and Caribbean countries.
Seven jurisdictions deviated from this trend by combining a high tax standing with inclusion in the top fifty for quality of life: Malta, Cyprus, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Mauritius, Switzerland, and Portugal. None of these achieved this through a zero personal income tax model, relying instead on territorial, remittance, or preferential regimes.
The US has the highest tax burden in the sample both in rate and structure, and it also imposes the strictest exit conditions among all jurisdictions reviewed. Of the 17 jurisdictions that levy an exit tax, 11—including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland—apply a broad levy with deferral options, while five of them, including Portugal, the UK, and Japan, use a narrower version.
Inheritance tax proved to be the clearest differentiator between high-burden systems and top performers. France levies up to 60 percent, Japan 55 percent, and Germany 50 percent, whereas none of the top 13 jurisdictions in the index levy inheritance tax. The report specifically noted the US as an outlier, emphasizing that simple relocation does not end the country's tax influence on its citizens.
Regarding net capital tax, it is applied in only eight of the 48 studied jurisdictions, ranging from 0.1 percent in Uruguay to 3.5 percent in Spain. Notably, none of the zero personal income tax jurisdictions impose a wealth tax.
In conclusion, the report concluded that there is no single jurisdiction suitable for all types of global citizens. Entrepreneurs approaching liquidity realization should focus on capital gains and exit costs; retirees should focus on inheritance, healthcare, and consumption tax; and remote workers should focus almost entirely on how foreign-sourced income is taxed.