The EU has revised its blacklist of jurisdictions considered non-compliant for tax purposes. On 18 February’s ECOFIN Council meeting, ministers agreed to add Cayman Islands, Palau, Panama and Seychelles to the EU’s blacklist. 16 jurisdictions (Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cabo Verde, Cook Islands, Curaçao, Marshall Islands, Montenegro, Nauru, Niue, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Vietnam) reportedly implemented the required reforms to comply with EU’stax good governance criteria and were removed from Annex II.
Commenting on behalf of the EU Presidency, Croatia’s Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said of the developments: “The work on the list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions is based on a thorough process of assessment, monitoring and dialogue with about 70 third country jurisdictions. Since we started this exercise, 49 countries have implemented the necessary tax reforms to comply with the EU’s criteria. This is an undeniable success. But it is also work in progress and a dynamic process where our methodology and criteria are constantly reviewed.”
Ref.: CFE’s Tax Top 5 – 24 February 2020
