Mauritius based front companies of foreign investors are used to avoid paying taxes in India utilising loopholes in the bilateral agreement on double taxation between the two countries.

The use of Mauritius as a gateway to funnel foreign investments into India has always been controversial.

The economy rests on sugar, tourism, textiles and apparel, and financial services, and is expanding into fish processing, information and communications technology, and hospitality and property development.

Panama

This Central American nation borders both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Colombia and Costa Rica.

Panama's economy rests primarily on a well-developed services sector. Services include operating the Panama Canal, banking, the Colon Free Zone, insurance, container ports, flagship registry, and tourism.

Panama has the second most unequal income distribution in Latin America. The government has recently implemented both tax and social security reforms.

Image: Giant Victoria regia water lilies, native to the Amazon, cover the surface of a pond at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Gardens in Pamplemousses, near Port Louis in Mauritius. | Photograph: Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters

Also read: America's loss is world's gain!

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