Tax, economy, and demographics

Dimension	Gibraltar	Mexico
Corporate income tax	15%Moderate	30%Very high
Corporate tax basis	Pure territorialPure territorial	WorldwideWorldwide
Personal income tax (marginal)	25%Low	35%Moderate
Personal tax basis	TerritorialTerritorial	WorldwideWorldwide
Population	34 k	133.0 M×3912
Area	7 km²	1,964,375 km²×280625
Population density	4,857 /km²	68 /km²
Capital	Gibraltar	Mexico City
Currency	GIP (Gibraltar pound)	MXN (Mexican peso)
Main airport	GIB (Gibraltar International Airport)	MEX (Mexico City International Airport)
Phone code	+350	+52
Internet TLD	.gi	.mx

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Mexico passport

#20

Henley rank

156

Visa-free destinations

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Verdict

For professionals who prioritize justice & order index, Gibraltar leads with 8.7 / 10 versus 4.2 / 10 for Mexico. On safetyshield index, Gibraltar is at 8.8 / 10 compared with 4.5 / 10 for Mexico.

Frequently asked questions

• Gibraltar

  Can foreign residents open bank accounts and deploy capital in Gibraltar without friction?

  Gibraltar is a highly regulated, UK-aligned financial centre supervised by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) under the Financial Services Act 2019, with eligible deposits protected up to GBP 120,000 per depositor per credit institution under the Gibraltar Deposit Guarantee Scheme. The principal banks operating locally are Gibraltar International Bank (government-owned, default choice for residents and SMEs), The Royal Bank of Scotland International Limited trading as NatWest International (NatWest Group offshore arm, accounts for UK expatriates and internationally mobile clients), Trusted Novus Bank (formerly Jyske Bank (Gibraltar) Limited until April 2020, now owned by Rooke Investments, focused on private banking and personal banking), Turicum Private Bank (Swiss-style private banking, conservative investment strategy), Bank J. Safra Sarasin (Gibraltar) Ltd (Swiss-Brazilian J. Safra Sarasin group, high net worth wealth management), Union Bancaire Privée (UK) Limited Gibraltar Branch (formerly SG Kleinwort Hambros, rebranded 1 April 2025 following UBP acquisition from Société Générale), and Xapo Bank Limited (credit institution under Permission No. 23171, paired with Xapo VASP Limited DLT licence under Permission No. 26061 for crypto custody). Resident foreign nationals open accounts with proof of valid residency, source-of-funds documentation, and compliance with KYC standards aligned with FATF and EU AMLD frameworks transposed into Gibraltar law. Account opening is significantly more demanding than in larger European centres: lead times of four to twelve weeks are typically reported for resident accounts, comprehensive source-of-wealth dossiers are routine, and personal interviews are common. Non-resident account opening for individuals has tightened materially since 2018 and is rarely accessible outside private banking thresholds, with reported minimum AUM in the GBP 500,000 to GBP 1 million range. Gibraltar has been FATCA-compliant since 2014 and CRS-compliant since 2017. The territory was removed from the FATF grey list on 23 February 2024 following sustained reform of its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing framework, and was subsequently removed from the EU high-risk list in March 2024. There are no general foreign exchange controls, and capital can be deployed and repatriated without restriction within ordinary AML compliance. Real estate purchase on the open market is available to non-residents without nationality restrictions, while the restricted market (also called local market or 3-year residency market) is reserved to buyers who have lived in Gibraltar continuously for three years. Stamp duty on open-market property purchases is nil up to GBP 200,000, then 2% on the first GBP 250,000 and 5.5% on the balance up to GBP 350,000, 3% on the first GBP 350,000 and 3.5% on the balance up to GBP 800,000, and 3% / 3.5% / 4.5% on tranches above GBP 800,000, with first and second-time buyer exemption up to GBP 300,000 under the Stamp Duties (Amendment) Act 2024.

• Mexico

  Can foreign residents open bank accounts and deploy capital in Mexico without friction?

  Foreign residents can open accounts, convert currency, invest, and acquire most assets in Mexico, but onboarding involves real friction rather than none. Mexican banking is supervised by the Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores (CNBV), a deconcentrated body of the Secretaría de Hacienda y Crédito Público (SHCP), while the Banco de México acts as the central bank and monetary authority. Major retail banks include Banamex (Banco Nacional de México, separated from Citi México in December 2024), BBVA México, Santander México, Banorte, HSBC México, Scotiabank, and Inbursa. Account opening for foreign residents typically requires a valid passport, a residence document, a Clave Única de Registro de Población (CURP), proof of a Mexican address such as a recent utility bill, and in many cases a Registro Federal de Contribuyentes (RFC) tax registration, with source-of-funds evidence for higher-value or investment accounts, although exact requirements vary by bank and product. Accounts are tiered from Nivel 1 to Nivel 4, where the lower tiers carry monthly deposit limits and Nivel 4 offers full-documentation functionality with no general statutory deposit cap beyond any limit agreed with the bank. Lead times range from same-day digital onboarding to several weeks where enhanced due diligence applies. Private banking and patrimonial segments operate at the major banks, including BBVA Patrimonial, Santander Select, Banorte Banca Patrimonial, and Banamex, alongside international wealth managers present through different vehicles, with UBS running CNBV-regulated entities, Morgan Stanley through a casa de bolsa, and Julius Baer through a representative office. Entry thresholds are set by each institution rather than by a single market-wide minimum, and local patrimonial tiers can start well below the levels associated with offshore private banking. Mexico applies the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) through its tax authority and was not listed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as a high-risk or increased-monitoring jurisdiction at its February 2026 plenary. Mexico has operated a free-floating exchange-rate regime since December 1994, with no general capital controls, so conversion between United States dollars (USD) and Mexican pesos (MXN) and outbound transfers are freely available in practice, subject to bank-level identity and anti-money-laundering checks, sanctions screening, tax documentation, and transaction reporting. Foreigners may own real estate directly outside the constitutional Restricted Zone, defined under Article 27 of the Constitution as the strip within 100 kilometres of an international border and 50 kilometres of any coastline. Inside that zone, residential acquisition is channelled through a fideicomiso, a 50-year renewable bank trust under which the bank holds legal title and the foreigner is the beneficiary. A Mexican company, including one held entirely by foreign capital, may instead hold property directly inside the Restricted Zone for non-residential purposes, while foreign-owned companies may not acquire residential-use property there. Investment access to the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores (BMV) runs through licensed casas de bolsa such as GBM, Actinver, Vector, Monex, Punto Casa de Bolsa, and UBS, among other CNBV-supervised intermediaries, with onboarding speed depending on the brokerage, residence status, tax registration, and compliance review rather than being uniformly same-day. Crypto-assets are not legal tender in Mexico and are not treated as foreign currency under the joint position of the Banco de México, the SHCP, and the CNBV, and Mexican financial institutions are not authorised to offer crypto-asset operations to the public, although non-bank exchanges such as Bitso operate in the retail market, so crypto should not be read as a regulated substitute for bank deposits or securities custody. Mexican tax residents may also carry annual reporting and tax obligations on income earned through foreign entities and transparent foreign vehicles under the controlled-foreign-entity and preferred-tax-regime rules of the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (LISR), principally Articles 176 to 178 of its Title VI, filed through the dedicated annual informative return, rather than under a blanket offshore-account disclosure.

• Gibraltar

  How does taxation apply to residents and foreign-source income in Gibraltar?

  Gibraltar applies a territorial corporate tax system, while individual taxation is mainly source-based but includes specific charges on certain foreign or passive income for ordinarily resident individuals, under the Income Tax Act 2010. Section 11 distinguishes three regimes: companies are taxed only on income accruing in or derived from Gibraltar (Tables A to C of Schedule 1), individuals not ordinarily resident are taxed only on Gibraltar-source income, and individuals ordinarily resident are also taxed on income specified in Table B and Table C accruing in, derived from or received in any place other than Gibraltar, with section 11(3) deeming receipt in Gibraltar where the taxpayer obtains an equivalent benefit in Gibraltar. Foreign-source income is therefore not automatically exempt by virtue of residence alone, but specific categories may become taxable depending on ordinary residence, actual receipt, deemed receipt, or statutory deeming rules. For companies, the standard corporate income tax rate is 15% (raised from 12.5% on 1 July 2024), with a 20% rate applying to utility providers, telecommunications companies (on their telecom income only), and companies abusing a dominant market position. Three explicit exceptions to corporate territoriality are set out in Schedule 1 of the Act: intercompany loan interest exceeding GBP 100,000 per annum, royalty income received or receivable by a Gibraltar-registered company, and (since the Income Tax (Amendment) Regulations 2018) non-trading rental income from movable property located outside Gibraltar received or receivable by a Gibraltar-registered company are all deemed to accrue in and derive from Gibraltar regardless of source, and taxed at 15%. The Development Aid Scheme (Development Aid Act) grants full corporate tax exemption to approved capital expenditure projects in real estate, tourism, housing, and infrastructure, until aggregate gains net of losses exceed the approved capex. The Global Minimum Tax Act 2024 introduced a Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax for fiscal years ending on or after 31 December 2024, applying to multinational groups with consolidated revenue above EUR 750 million. For individuals, a dual-assessment mechanism applies automatically: each taxpayer is assessed under both the Allowances-Based System (rates 14% to 39% with personal allowances) and the Gross Income Based System (peak 28% on income GBP 40,001 to GBP 105,000, falling back to 25% above GBP 105,000), and the lower liability prevails. Since 1 July 2022, foreign residents holding neither CAT2 nor HEPSS, and not in genuine third-party employment, are taxed on their full passive income including savings, dividends, and pensions, neutralising the historical self-sufficiency tax position. There is no general capital gains tax (subject to the Income Tax (Amendment No.2) Act 2024 regime on residential property disposals from 1 January 2025 for persons holding five or more taxable properties), no wealth tax, no inheritance tax, no gift tax, no withholding tax on dividends, interest, or royalties paid to non-residents, and no VAT. Stamp duty applies on open-market real estate at rates of nil up to GBP 200,000, 2% on the first GBP 250,000 and 5.5% on the balance up to GBP 350,000, 3% on the first GBP 350,000 and 3.5% on the balance up to GBP 800,000, and 3% / 3.5% / 4.5% on tranches above GBP 800,000, with first and second-time buyer exemption up to GBP 300,000 under the Stamp Duties (Amendment) Act 2024. Gibraltar has no broad double-tax treaty network outside its agreements with the United Kingdom and Spain (the latter under the 2019 International Agreement on Taxation in respect of Gibraltar), which materially limits foreign tax credit relief for residents with multi-jurisdictional income. Source: Gibraltar Income Tax Office and Income Tax Act 2010.

• Mexico

  How does taxation apply to residents and foreign-source income in Mexico?

  Mexico taxes its fiscal residents on worldwide income, whatever the source of the wealth, an obligation that derives from Article 1 of the Ley del Impuesto sobre la Renta (LISR). Tax residency itself is defined in Article 9 of the Codigo Fiscal de la Federacion, which is triggered by a permanent home in Mexico or, for a person with a home in more than one country, by a centre of vital interests in Mexico, meaning that more than 50 percent of the calendar-year income is Mexican-sourced or that the principal centre of professional activities sits there. The federal corporate income tax, the Impuesto sobre la Renta (ISR), is a flat 30 percent under Article 9 LISR with no state-level corporate surcharge. Concessionary corporate regimes available in 2026 include the manufacturing, maquila and export services regime (IMMEX) under the Decreto of 1 November 2006 and Articles 181 to 183 LISR, where a Safe Harbor methodology has been mandatory since fiscal year 2025 after the last advance pricing agreements covered 2020 to 2024. Under Safe Harbor the taxable base is the higher of 6.9 percent of assets used or 6.5 percent of operating costs and expenses, and the resulting effective burden depends on each company's cost, asset and margin structure rather than on any fixed statutory rate. The Regimen Simplificado de Confianza (RESICO) for legal entities, under Articles 206 to 215 LISR, applies cash-basis 30 percent ISR to Mexican-resident corporations with up to MXN 35 million annual revenue and only individual resident shareholders, and allows accelerated investment deduction at the maximum percentages of Article 209 LISR only where total investments in the year do not exceed MXN 3 million, the general Title II percentages applying above that threshold. The Polos de Desarrollo Economico para el Bienestar regime, created by decree in the Diario Oficial de la Federacion of 22 May 2025, grants a 100 percent ISR credit during fiscal years 1 to 3, then 50 percent or up to 90 percent where minimum employment thresholds are exceeded during years 4 to 6, plus 100 percent immediate deduction of new fixed assets through 30 September 2030 and a 100 percent VAT credit on intra-Polo transactions, with 14 Polos approved by the inter-ministerial committee as of May 2025. The Plan Mexico decree, published in the Diario Oficial de la Federacion of 21 January 2025, layers accelerated depreciation of 41 to 91 percent on new fixed assets acquired in 2025 and 2026 and 35 to 89 percent on assets acquired between 2027 and 30 September 2030, plus a 25 percent additional deduction on the increase in training and innovation expenses for priority sectors anywhere in Mexico. Personal income tax is progressive from 1.92 to 35 percent across 11 brackets under the annual tariff of Article 152 LISR. For 2026 the 35 percent top marginal rate applies to annual taxable income above MXN 5,107,703.93, the bracket published in Annex 8 of the Resolucion Miscelanea Fiscal 2026 (Diario Oficial de la Federacion of 28 December 2025) after the tables were rebased by 13.21 percent for accumulated inflation. The RESICO regime for individuals, under Articles 113-E to 113-J LISR, offers a flat 1.00 to 2.50 percent ISR on gross business, professional or rental income up to MXN 3.5 million annual, with no deductions, and is unavailable to partners or shareholders of legal entities, to related-party transactors and to foreign residents. There is no separate federal wealth tax, no standalone inheritance or gift tax and no general exit tax at the individual level. Inheritances and legacies are exempt from ISR under Article 93 LISR, while gifts are exempt between spouses and in the direct ascending or descending line and other gifts are exempt only up to three times the annual Unidad de Medida y Actualizacion, the excess being taxable. Capital gains realised by resident individuals on listed Mexican shares are taxed at 10 percent under the dedicated regime of Article 129 LISR, computed on net annual gains with brokers reporting and provisionally withholding and the balance settled in the annual return, rather than as a simple final withholding. The standard VAT rate is 16 percent, with an effective 8 percent rate in the Northern Border Zone through a fiscal stimulus that credits half of the tax, and a 0 percent rate on exports. The Ley de Ingresos de la Federacion 2026, published in the Diario Oficial de la Federacion on 7 November 2025, introduces in its Twenty-Fourth Transitory Article a final 15 percent ISR on legally sourced funds held abroad until 8 September 2025, returned to Mexico no later than 31 December 2026 and kept invested in Mexican productive activities for at least three years, the levy applying to the gross amount without deductions and being definitive. Mexico operates a treaty network of more than 60 jurisdictions including the United States, Canada, Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan, Korea and most OECD members, with a foreign tax credit available to residents under Article 5 LISR. Mexico participates in the OECD Inclusive Framework but has not enacted a domestic Pillar Two minimum-tax package, with no qualified domestic minimum top-up tax, income inclusion rule or undertaxed profits rule in force as of May 2026, which leaves Polo and IMMEX entities with potential top-up tax exposure at the level of the ultimate parent jurisdiction.

• Gibraltar

  What long-term residence options exist in Gibraltar for internationally mobile individuals?

  Gibraltar offers no digital nomad visa, no remote-work permit, and no freelancer track. The available pathways are employment by a Gibraltar-registered entity, self-employment with genuine local activity, self-sufficiency, and the two specialist tax regimes Category 2 (CAT2) and High Executive Possessing Specialist Skills (HEPSS). CAT2, governed by the Qualifying (Category 2) Individuals Rules 2004 under the Income Tax Act 2010, caps Gibraltar tax on the first GBP 118,000 of assessable income (income accrued in, derived from, or remitted to Gibraltar) under the Allowance Based System, producing a minimum annual liability of GBP 37,000 and a maximum of GBP 42,380 for 2025/2026. Foreign-source income that is neither received in nor remitted to Gibraltar is generally not taxed under the territorial system, so a CAT2 holder with offshore passive portfolio income typically pays the minimum GBP 37,000. CAT2 requires net worth of at least GBP 2 million, approved residential accommodation in Gibraltar reserved for exclusive use, forbids trade or employment in Gibraltar (except where economically beneficial under Finance Centre Director discretion), demands 5 years of prior non-residency (defined as not present more than 183 days in any tax year, nor an average of 90 days in three of those 5 years), and carries a non-refundable application fee of GBP 1,100 plus an advance tax deposit of GBP 42,380. HEPSS, governed by the HEPSS Rules 2008, is employment-based, fixes income tax at GBP 39,940 per year on a deemed GBP 160,000 base under the Gross Income Based System, requires a Gibraltar employer in a high executive or senior management position, salary above GBP 160,000 per annum, specialist skills not readily available locally, exclusive use of approved Gibraltar accommodation, and 3 years of prior non-residency. The HEPSS certificate is dependent on continued employment with the same Gibraltar company and ceases on change of employer. Since 6 October 2025, Legal Notice 729/2025 (Immigration (EU Exit) Regulations 2025) has suspended new general residency applications from UK and EEA nationals after applications roughly tripled following the 11 June 2025 political agreement on the UK-EU treaty. CAT2 and HEPSS applications continue on a discretionary economic-interest basis with Chief Minister approval. The Gibraltarian Status and Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2025, in force from 30 October 2025, doubled permanent residency under Section 55N IARA from 5 to 10 years, and Gibraltarian Status under ministerial discretion (Section 9(f) Gibraltarian Status Act) from 10 to 20 years. British Overseas Territories Citizen naturalisation remains available after 5 years of qualifying residence (3 years if married to a BOTC). Non-UK and non-EEA nationals are not affected by the LN 729/2025 suspension and follow the standard discretionary track.

• Mexico

  What long-term residence options exist in Mexico for internationally mobile individuals?

  Mexico operates a consular Temporary Residency route (Residente Temporal, Article 52(VII) of the Ley de Migración) for stays of more than 180 days and up to 4 years, alongside a direct Permanent Residency route for retired or pensioned applicants (Residente Permanente, Article 54(III)). The Acuerdo published by the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE) in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 25 July 2025 rebased the economic solvency thresholds onto multiples of the Unidad de Medida y Actualización (UMA), the daily reference unit set at MXN 117.31 from 1 February 2026. Temporary Residency by economic solvency offers four main routes. The income route requires monthly employment or pension income above 680 UMA (about MXN 79,771) over the previous 6 months. The savings route requires an average monthly bank or investment balance of 11,460 UMA (about MXN 1,344,373) over the previous 12 months. The real estate route requires ownership of Mexican property worth more than 91,710 UMA (about MXN 10,758,500). The investment route requires qualifying investment above 45,850 UMA (about MXN 5,378,664), which may be evidenced through capital participation in a Mexican legal entity, transfer of assets or rights to the company, qualifying fixed assets used for business activity, or documentation proving economic or business activity in Mexico. The visa is issued for a single entry, the residence card must be requested before the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) within 30 calendar days of entry, and it is granted for 1 year initially, renewable up to a cumulative 4 years. Family members may qualify through family unity, with an additional economic solvency requirement of 220 UMA (about MXN 25,808) per dependent, which is a means test rather than a fee. Direct Permanent Residency is available to retired or pensioned applicants who show either an average monthly bank or investment balance of 45,850 UMA (about MXN 5,378,664) over the previous 12 months, or pension income above 1,140 UMA (about MXN 133,733) per month over the previous 6 months, granting indefinite stay from issuance of the card. Spouses or common-law partners of Mexican nationals fall under Article 56 and are not documented directly as permanent residents. They are first granted Temporary Residency for 2 years, after which they may change to Permanent Residency if the marital or common-law link subsists. The same 2-year sequence applies to spouses of foreign permanent residents under Article 55. Employer-sponsored Temporary Residency runs under Article 52(VII), through a visa authorisation promoted before the INM by a Mexican employer holding a valid employer registration (Constancia de Inscripción del Empleador). A points-based Permanent Residency is codified under Article 57, but its implementing dispositions are not operational in a clearly defined way under current published rules. The Ley Federal de Derechos amendment published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 7 November 2025 raised INM card fees sharply from 1 January 2026, with the 1-year temporary residence card rising to MXN 11,140.74, approximately double the main 2025 reference amount. A 50 percent fee reduction applies where residency rests on family unity, a national employment offer by a registered employer, or an invitation by a public or private organisation for unpaid activity. A temporary-to-permanent pathway therefore carries an indicative cumulative INM cost in the region of MXN 47,500 to 60,000 depending on the renewal sequence, before consular fees, translations and ancillary costs, rather than a single fixed amount. Naturalisation is generally available after 5 years of legal residence under the Ley de Nacionalidad, reduced to 2 years for nationals of Latin American countries or of the Iberian Peninsula, and for spouses of Mexican nationals who meet the residence and cohabitation conditions. Dual nationality should be treated with care. Mexican nationality by birth is strongly protected, but naturalised Mexicans are subject to specific renunciation and protestation requirements and to constitutional grounds for loss of Mexican nationality by naturalisation, so foreign nationals keeping another citizenship should confirm their position before naturalising.

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