Paraguay or Saudi Arabia in 2026: the same 0%, two opposite costs of living
After Brunei, the other absolute zero giant: Saudi Arabia. The kingdom levies no personal income tax: no tax brackets, no declaration, gross salary equals net. The most colossal oil rent in history finances the state, and the Vision 2030 program is rapidly transforming the country: futuristic megaprojects, opening to tourism, spectacular social liberalizations in a decade, women driving, cinemas, concerts, and a stated ambition to attract talent and regional headquarters from all over the world.
Readers of our series know the question that follows every zero: under what conditions, and for what kind of life? The Saudi answer is the most decisive of all our comparisons: the 0% is obtained through an employer-sponsor, in a sponsorship system that links your presence to your contract; it is lived under religiously inspired law, without alcohol, in summers of 45°C and more; and it leads to nothing: no free ownership, no acquired permanence, no nationality. This comparison pits the Saudi salary zero against the Paraguayan territorial zero, and especially their two prices.
Dimension 1: Taxation
| Aspect | Paraguay | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Income Tax | Strict territoriality, Law 6380/2019: 0% on foreign-sourced income, IRP of 8 to 10% on local income. | Absolute 0% on salaries and individual income, for both nationals and expatriates: the second full zero in our series after Brunei. An expatriate executive with a €150,000 package receives it net. A nuance to note: independent or commercial activity carried out by a foreigner is subject to corporate tax at 20% or withholding taxes; the Saudi zero is primarily a salary zero. |
| Social security contributions and other deductions | No mandatory contributions for a self-employed person in an LLC. | Social contributions mainly reserved for nationals; expatriates, however, pay residency and dependent fees: monthly levies per dependent, iqama and permit fees, often covered by the employer, sometimes not. The zero comes with processing fees. |
| VAT | IVA of 10%. | 15%: tripled in 2020 in one go, from 5% to 15%, to finance the non-oil budget. A useful reminder: in a rentier state, tax rules change by decree, quickly. |
| Corporate Tax | IRACIS: 10%. | 20% on the foreign share of capital, the Saudi share being subject to zakat, a religious levy of about 2.5% on an asset base. Double the Paraguayan rate for a foreign investor. |
| Capital gains, inheritance, wealth | 0% on foreign capital gains and inheritances; 8 to 10% on local capital gains. | No capital gains tax for individuals, no inheritance tax, no wealth tax: a perfect patrimonial picture on paper. But the succession of an expatriate who dies in the kingdom is by default subject to religious inheritance rules, with predefined shares very different from French law: without planning, your local assets can be distributed according to rules you have not chosen. The zero tax on inheritance coexists with an inheritance law that must be anticipated. |
| Cryptocurrencies | Territoriality: foreign-sourced gains outside the scope of tax. Reporting obligation to the DNIT beyond USD 5,000 per year, Resolution 47/2026, purely informative. | No tax, due to no income tax, but a wary banking environment: local banks regularly block flows related to crypto platforms, without clear guidelines. Zero tax, zero comfort. |
| Tax treaty with France | None. | Yes, a treaty is in force: useful for seconded employees, transparent for information exchange. |
| Foundation and sustainability | A codified fiscal policy choice, which benefits the country and has no reason to change. | The rentier state, in assumed transition: Vision 2030 precisely aims for the post-oil era, and the VAT tripled in one decree shows the method. Income tax for expatriates is regularly mentioned in Gulf budgetary debates. The Saudi zero is a revocable attractiveness policy, not a principle. |
Tax verdict: For a salaried employee with a package, the Saudi zero is real, massive, and immediate: it's the world's largest salary savings machine. For a self-employed person, it does not exist: no status, and local activity would be taxed at 20%. Paraguay offers a narrower zero on paper, foreign source only, but universal in practice: it precisely covers the profile, freelance and international entrepreneur, that the kingdom cannot accommodate.
Dimension 2: Access and Status
| Aspect | Paraguay | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Entry path | Temporary residence open to all, without profile or employer conditions, in 2 to 4 months with a single trip and two days on site via our Paraguayan tax residence service, from €1,400. | The almost unique path: an employment contract with an employer-sponsor, who obtains your iqama, the residence permit linked to them. The sponsorship system has been relaxed by recent reforms, facilitating mobility and exit, but its logic remains: your presence is tied to your contract, and once the contract ends, the countdown begins. An alternative exists for the wealthy: the Premium Residency, residency without a sponsor against a substantial annual fee or a six-figure one-time payment, available in variants for investors and exceptional talents. A luxury product, with no universal access equivalent. And for the ordinary international freelancer: nothing. No sustainable nomad visa, no foreign self-employed status outside nascent special zones. |
| Permanence and Nationality | Permanent residency after two years, naturalization in 3 years, de facto dual nationality. See our guide on Franco-Paraguayan dual nationality. | Premium Residency is the closest thing to permanence, at a high price and revocable. Naturalization is exceptional, discretionary, reserved for co-opted exceptional profiles; dual nationality is not allowed for ordinary naturalizations. After thirty years in the kingdom, an expatriate remains an expatriate: the Brunei model, on a scale twenty times larger. |
| Real Estate Ownership | Full ownership without restriction, title in your name. See our page real estate investment in Paraguay. | Historically closed to foreigners except in exceptional cases; a regulated opening is announced as part of Vision 2030, by zones and under conditions, with the necessary caution regarding any recent Saudi measure: the rules are being written as they go. Mecca and Medina remain off-limits for non-Muslims, both for ownership and access. |
Access verdict: the kingdom recruits, it does not welcome: the Saudi zero is earned through a contract, maintained by a sponsor, and ends with employment. Paraguay offers the opposite, a status that belongs to you. For the sought-after employee, the Saudi door is wide open and golden; for all others, it does not exist.
Dimension 3: The price of life, in all senses
| Aspect | Paraguay (Asunción) | Saudi Arabia (Riyadh / Jeddah) |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost of living, single person | 1,200 to 2,200 USD | 1,800 to 3,500 USD: rents from 800 to 2,000 USD depending on standard and compound, negligible gasoline, expensive imports, affordable services thanks to a massive immigrant workforce. Expatriate packages often include housing and schools: the real cost depends more on the contract than on the market. |
| Climate | Subtropical: hot and humid summers at 35-40°C, mild winters, outdoor life possible ten months a year. | Extreme desert: 45°C and more for months in Riyadh, peaks beyond, crushing humidity on the Jeddah coast, sandstorms. Summer life takes place entirely indoors with air conditioning, from car to mall to compound. It's not just a difficult summer; it's an entire life architecture organized against the outdoors. |
| Legal framework and freedoms | Imperfect but open republic: public freedoms, press, freedom of worship, private morals outside the scope of the state. | Absolute monarchy under religious law, undergoing real and spectacular social liberalization since 2017: cinemas, concerts, tourism, increased mixing, abaya not mandatory for foreign women, yet still structurally constrained: alcohol prohibited with very rare diplomatic exceptions, non-Muslim religious practice confined to the strictly private sphere, public expression monitored, severe penalties for what elsewhere falls under freedom of opinion, and a justice system whose standards are not those of a Western rule of law. Reforms change the surface of daily life, not the nature of the system. Settling in the kingdom means living under the entirety of this law. |
| Daily expat life | Ordinary Latin city life: terraces, asados, freedom of movement and morals. | Life in a compound for many Westerners: secure residences among expatriates, with pools and clubs, comfortable and enclosed bubbles; malls, restaurants, now entertainment. A real but closed social life, paced by contract rotations, and weekend getaways to Bahrain or Dubai, an hour away, precisely for what the kingdom prohibits. Excellent criminal security; roads, however, are among the most dangerous in the developed world. |
| Health | Good quality private healthcare in Asunción, insufficient public healthcare. See our expat health guide in Paraguay. | Very good private hospitals in major cities, financed by mandatory employer insurance: for pure care, significantly above Paraguay. This is one of the true strengths of the Saudi package. |
| Time zone and connections | 5 to 6 hours behind Paris, morning aligned with European afternoon; regional connections. | 1 to 2 hours ahead of Paris: perfect alignment with Europe, and major air hubs, Jeddah and Riyadh, connecting the entire world, Paris in six direct hours. In terms of logistics, the kingdom overshadows Paraguay. |
Life verdict: the kingdom offers an exceptional material package to employees – zero tax, healthcare, hubs, European time zone – in a life under a bell jar: air-conditioned against the climate, closed against society, framed by a law that is not your own. Paraguay offers less gross money to employees on assignment, and something the kingdom does not sell at any price: an ordinary, open, self-determined life.
Dimension 4: Synthesis
| Dimension | Paraguay (/10) | Saudi Arabia (/10) | Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taxation of a salaried employee with a package | 7 | 10 | Saudi Arabia |
| Taxation of an international freelancer | 10 | 2 | Paraguay |
| Accessibility without employer | 10 | 2 | Paraguay |
| Status, permanence, nationality | 9 | 1 | Paraguay |
| Real estate ownership | 9 | 3 | Paraguay |
| Public freedoms and private life | 7 | 2 | Paraguay |
| Livable climate | 8 | 2 | Paraguay |
| Cost of living | 9 | 6 | Paraguay |
| Health | 6 | 8 | Saudi Arabia |
| Criminal security | 7 | 9 | Saudi Arabia |
| Time zone and connections to Europe | 5 | 9 | Saudi Arabia |
| Sustainability of the tax model | 9 | 4 | Paraguay |
| Overall score | 96/120 | 58/120 | Paraguay |
Which country for which profile
Paraguay is for you if:
- You are self-employed: the kingdom has no place for you, Paraguay has built one around you.
- You want your own status: self-owned residency, full property ownership, passport in three years, versus an iqama tied to an employer.
- You want to live outdoors, in every sense: terraces and freedoms, versus compounds and codes.
- You want a sustainable zero: a law that benefits its country, versus a rent-based exemption that the VAT tripled by decree prompts us to put into perspective.
- Your assets should be passed on according to your wishes, without defensive planning against default religious inheritance law.
Saudi Arabia is for you if:
- You are an employee recruited on a package deal: an executive in oil, healthcare, tech, or megaprojects, with sought-after expertise. Three to five years with zero tax, housing and schools included, constitute one of the most powerful savings accelerators in the world: tens of thousands of expatriates make this calculation, lucidly, and leave with a down payment for property or early retirement. This is the use case for the kingdom, and it is excellent, for a mission, not for a life project.
- You are wealthy enough for Premium Residency and the Gulf is your business arena: the product exists for you, to be structured with local advice.
- You fully and consciously accept the entire framework—climate, law, customs, host status—for the duration of the contract: lucidity is the only right way to approach it.
Combined reading
- The most rational scenario is not an hybridization of stays—the kingdom is not visited like Thailand—but a sequence: a few Saudi years on a package to build capital at maximum speed, then Paraguayan residency to make that capital grow at 0%, in full ownership, in full freedom, with a passport at the end. The kingdom as a sprint, Paraguay as a home: each of the two zeros in its rightful place in a life.
Three mistakes to avoid
- Confusing salary zero with a zero for all. The Saudi 0% is an attribute of the employment contract, not the territory: without an employer, it does not exist, and independent activity would be taxed. Always check who is entitled to the rate before admiring the rate: this is the recurring lesson of our series, here in its purest form.
- Underestimating what "living under local law" means. Social reforms are real; the legal foundation remains. Public expression, morals, religion, justice: the standards are not yours and apply to you. The Vision 2030 brochure and the applicable code are two different documents; read the second one.
- Leaving without planning for exit and succession. The iqama expires with the contract: anticipate the end from the moment of signing—capital, next destination, timeline. And while you are in the kingdom, have your succession structured by an advisor: default religious law does not recognize your French will or your implicit wishes.
Conclusion
Saudi Arabia takes Brunei's logic to the scale of a world power: the richest zero in the world, reserved for those it recruits, for the time it employs them, under laws, a climate, and a status that remind you daily that you are only passing through. As a salary sprint, it's unbeatable; as a life, it's not one in the sense our readership understands: no land, no passport, no terrace, no freedom to say, believe, and drink what you please.
Paraguay closes the comparison as it opened the series: with the modesty of its means and the completeness of its offer. Its zero is narrower on paper and infinitely broader in life: it covers the independent individual whom the kingdom ignores, comes with land, status, and a passport, and is lived outdoors, all year round, speaking your mind. Two zeros, two prices: one is paid in years of life under wraps, the other from €1,400. The entire series fits into this bill.
Looking for a 0% that's a life, not a mission? Contact us: Paraguayan tax residency from €1,400, or €1,800 for the Express option which is finalized in a single 2-day trip on-site, creation of a US LLC, Paraguayan bank account at €250, and DNIT accounting at €30 per month. The kingdom lends its zero to its employees; Paraguay gives its zero to its residents. Write to us on WhatsApp at +595 971 362 302: quick response, in French.