When the European Union announced its blacklist of jurisdictions judged not to be cooperative on tax in December 2017 it granted several nations in the Caribbean extra time to change their tax systems to meet EU standards. That revised deadline has now passed and the EU’s finance ministers have approved a number of changes.
The following jurisdictions have been added to the blacklist:
• The Bahamas.
• The US Virgin Islands.
• Saint Kitts and Nevis.
As well as approving the additions ministers have removed Bahrain, the Marshall Islands and Saint Lucia from the list.
American Samoa, Guam, Namibia, Palau, Samoa and Trinidad and Tobago will remain on the blacklist.
A further four Caribbean jurisdictions have been placed on the grey-list of countries that have pledged to alter their practices:
• Anguilla.
• The British Virgin Islands.
• Dominica.
• Antigua and Barbuda.
One further jurisdiction, the Turks and Caicos Islands, has been given until 31 March 2018 to respond to the EU’s concerns.
STEP will continue to monitor the development of both the blacklist and the grey-list and will provide further updates when appropriate.
The STEP Blog 