The European Union Finance Ministers (ECOFIN) has expanded the list of jurisdictions included on the EU’s tax haven blacklist.
The blacklist, which is designed to promote a responsible tax policy worldwide and to ensure that the EU’s international partners adhere to the same standards as EU member states, now also includes: the UAE, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Dominica, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, Oman, Vanuatu and Aruba.
This takes the total number of jurisdictions on the list to 15 at present. The five already on the list before the latest update are Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, and three US territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands.
Several of the blacklisted territories are major captive insurance domiciles such as Bermuda and Barbados.
Blacklisted jurisdictions face stricter controls on their financial transactions with the EU, although no EU sanctions have yet been agreed by European states.
Bermuda
Bermuda premier David Burt called the EU’s decision to put the British overseas territory on the blacklist “a setback”, but said he was confident it would soon be reversed, reported Reuters.
“Bermuda is compliant, and we are confident that within a matter of weeks that will be accepted by EU member states and Bermuda will be removed from this list,” he added.
UAE & Oman
Responding to the ECOFIN move, the UAE government said in a statement, “This inclusion was made despite the UAE’s close cooperation with the EU on this issue and ongoing efforts to fulfil all the EU’s requirements.
“The UAE remains firmly committed to its longstanding policy of meeting the highest international standards on taxation.”
The UAE “will continue to update its domestic legislative framework in this regard”, the statement said.
The EU had included the UAE on the initial 2017 list, but later removed it after Emirati officials assured their European counterparts they would meet EU requirements.
Separately, in Oman, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement that it regrets the ECOFIN decision in light of the continuous communication between the sultanate and the EU to combat tax evasion and strengthen cooperation between the tax authorities.
The ministry also said that it is continuing efforts to meet the criteria stipulated in agreements and treaties to enhance cooperation with the tax authorities of other countries, which is still being completed due to the legislative cycle in the sultanate.
The EU also has a tax haven greylist, which indicates which jurisdictions will continue to be monitored. On this list is a total of 34 countries, including nine captive domiciles: Anguilla, Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Cook Islands, Mauritius, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Switzerland. M