17 June 2015

European Commission publishes a list of non-cooperative jurisdictions

The "Top 30" of non-cooperative jurisdictions is made up of countries that featured on at least 10 Member States' blacklists. Ultimately, the aim is to have a common EU approach to defining and reacting to third country non-cooperative jurisdictions. In discussions with Member States on their national blacklists, it became clear that each one uses different criteria to determine which countries to list, and takes different measures (if any at all) against listed countries. 

Member States have called for an EU approach to address external threats to their tax bases. In order to effectively tax profits generated in the EU, they need common measures to stop profit shifting out of the EU. A common EU approach will carry more weight than a patchwork of national ones and will prevent tax avoiders from accessing non-cooperative jurisdictions by exploiting loopholes in different national approaches. EU Member States themselves are committed to transparency, exchange of information and fair tax competition (Code of Conduct for Business Taxation).

A number of EU Member States assess how countries and territories around the world apply standards of tax good governance (transparency, exchange of information, and fair tax competition). The criteria (partly common and partly their own) used by the relevant EU countries in their assessment are listed below:


The full list is:

Andorra, Liechtenstein, Guernsey, Monaco, Mauritius, Liberia, Seychelles, Brunei, Hong Kong, Maldives, Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Montserrat, Panama, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Turks and Caicos, US Virgin Islands.

No comments: