The Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Belize and the Seychelles should no longer appear on the EU’s updated ‘blacklist’ of uncooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (see EUROPE 13304/23), according to draft EU Council conclusions dated Monday 12 February. These conclusions are due to be officially approved at the General Affairs Council on Tuesday 20 February.
The blacklist now includes twelve jurisdictions: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Russian Federation, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, US Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu. The last update took place in October (see EUROPE 13273/15).
While the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands would be permanently withdrawn, Belize and the Seychelles would join the EU’s ‘grey list’ of third countries and jurisdictions that have made commitments on good tax governance. The EU criticises them for their lack of tax transparency. As in the case of the British Virgin Islands, it has based its classification on the results of the assessment with regard to the exchange of information on request, and is still awaiting further verification from the Global Forum.
Costa Rica, Curaçao and Turkey are also likely to be criticised for their lack of transparency, particularly with regard to the automatic exchange of information. With regard to Turkey, the Council’s draft conclusions state that the Council regrets that Turkey has not made any progress with one Member State in this area and asks it once again to initiate this exchange.
The EU also criticises Armenia, Eswatini and Malaysia for having harmful tax regimes. It should give Malaysia until 31 March to adapt its legislation on the treatment of capital gains. The EU is also awaiting the Forum’s final assessments of the free-trade zones in Armenia (see EUROPE 13345/26) and the Eswatini special economic zone.
Finally, Vietnam is due to remain on the ‘grey list’ because of the prevention of tax base erosion and profit shifting. The country would have until 31 August to implement the minimum standard for country-by-country reporting (CbCR) and to activate exchange relations in this area with all EU Member States.
Aruba, Israel, Botswana, Dominica, Hong Kong and Albania would be removed from the ‘grey list’.
To read the Council’s draft conclusion, go to https://aeur.eu/f/aww (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)