Social media posts claim that Monaco has much better-maintained streets compared to neighbouring France despite charging no taxes.
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00:00Does Monaco pay zero taxes?
00:07A video has gone viral on social media showing a road crossing the border between France and
00:12Monaco. On the one side you see France's Rue des Martyrs de la Résistance, which looks a bit
00:17rough around the edges compared to Monaco's Rue Bellevue on the other side. The video has been
00:21shared thousands of times on TikTok and X with captions in multiple languages claiming that
00:26Monaco has zero taxes. The posts imply that Monaco maintains its pristine streets without
00:32taxation and therefore that a libertarian tax regime is the way to go. The claims are misleading
00:37though. It's true that the Principality doesn't levy a personal income tax on its residents
00:43nor does it impose capital gains or net wealth taxes for example. However other taxes do exist
00:49such as a 33.3% tax on profits earned on the sale of real estate and for companies with profits
00:55exceeding 25% from outside of Monaco. The former is particularly significant because Monaco has
01:01some of the highest property prices in the world. It also charges a 20% VAT rate which is bolstered
01:07by its status as a top tourist destination. Monaco generates billions of euros every year
01:12thanks to its location on the Mediterranean coast, casinos and luxury hotels. Furthermore despite
01:18its lower corporate tax rates the country charges thousands in registration and licensing fees for
01:24companies and French nationals resident in Monaco do have to pay income tax. Nevertheless Monaco is
01:29able to provide high quality public services on a low tax regime due to a number of different factors
01:35such as its tiny size and its huge wealth per capita. A country as large and diverse as France
01:40meanwhile needs significant revenue from tax to fund things like health care, education and social
01:46security and has a much wider area to cover. Ultimately low taxes may work for small economies
01:52but it's not a one-size-fits-all solution.