Tax, Incentives and Duties

The government offers incentives to new investors, and are granted at the discretion of the Minister of Finance. They may include tax holidays and duty exemptions on the import of certain capital goods. Further information can be obtained from the Inland Revenue Division.

Income Tax Rates

The company tax rate for a resident company is 30c in the dollar. Non-resident companies pay 35c in the dollar.

Personal income tax rates are as follows:

Income Bracket Rate
$1-$15,000 11%
$15,001- $30,000 $1650 + 23% of excess
$30,001- $60,000 $5100 + 35% of excess
$60,001 and over $15600 + 40% of excess

Check for updates at www.ird.gov.sb

Duty Exemptions

The Customs and Excise Act ( cap 58) provides a lot of incentives for investors under schedules 26 and 30. Schedule 26 covers exemption from customs duties on capital goods (machines, buildings and equipment). The only goods that are not exempted are ancillary items.

Schedule 30 covers duty exemption on items such as building materials, recreational vehicle, food stuff, tobacco products and drinks.

Import Duty Rates

There are four ad valorem import duty rates of 20, 15, 10 and 5 % on most imported goods. However, certain importers receive full exemptions including Solomon Islands National and Provincial governments, diplomatic mission, consular, Regional and international organisations, cultural, educational, health, religious, scientific, meteorological materials, initial capital investment, registered charitable organisation and raw materials or industrial inputs imported by manufacturers.

Export Duty Rates

The following are the export duty rates applicable to certain items (subject to change):

Minerals – 15%

Shells- 10%, 30%

Live fish, crustaceans- 10%

Fish chilled or frozen- 5%, 20%

Timbers various species at ad valorem and combined rates

Copra- 30%

Live animals- 10%

Crocodile skins- 10%