how much you need to earn to drive a bmw x5 ?

Is there a reason why illicit activities such as drug trafficking and money Laundering not being mentioned here, I am not generalising, but there must be a small percentage where this may be the case

I know what you mean but I have found that unlike the UK everything here is cash in hand so many people can get away with not declaring all they earn. Also everything is very expensive and the prices are stupid so everyone just makes up a price.

Also you need to earn a lot more money in Mauritius to live comfortably, I would say at least Rs 100,000!

A graduate salary starts at around Rs19,000 and it's going to take you years before you can afford a BMW X5. Start off with a smaller car like the Toyota Vitz and when you've saved enough money, then you can get more luxurious car.

Some people who have top positions are earning in excess of Rs100,000 but for you to get that wage, especially in the government sector, is going to take you a lifetime.

You would be surprised but many people in Mauritius are actually better off than those living in England. Here, you pay twice as much for a car because there are heavy taxes on vehicles. So somebody who is driving a BMW here is likely to be twice as rich as that person in the UK.

Now the real answer to your question lies in 3 things:

Income tax in Mauritius is lower
You pay 15% flat rate on your income here and you have an allowance of around Rs200,000 before you actually pay tax. In the UK, the allowance is relatively less and you start at a rate of 22% tax and if you're a high earner, you'll end up paying 40% tax.

Tax avoidance
Many people in Mauritius take cash in hand. For example, if you go to a lawyer, he'll want something like Rs40,000 as fees for his services. Most of the time, they don't give you a receipt and if they do, it's not something that they are going to declare to the taxman. They actually put only a fraction of the money they receive in the bank so as not to look suspicious. Therefore they are able to pay less tax and save more money.

Things are over expensive here
The cost of goods and services here do not reflect the actual value they really are. People set the prices themselves; they actually put whatever they feel like their services are worth without and most of the time there's no justification of the charges. For example, do you think a shampoo should cost Rs250? Or renting a bungalow for a night at Rs2500 sounds right? A weekly food shopping can easily cost Rs3000. I think it's a daylight rip-off.

Anyway, people don't complain about these things and the rising inflation does not seem to affect them. People are still spending no matter how much things cost and this means that they have the money to pay for it.

All in all, it's people who do business who are more wealthy and business does not necessary mean having an office as I known kebab merchants to be driving Mercedes!