BRUSSELS (Belgium), March 13 (NNN-ANDINA) — Peru has been removed from the European Union’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, also known as the blacklist, following commitments made at a high political level to remedy EU concerns.
EU Finance Ministers have updated the EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, based on an intense process of analysis and dialogue steered by the Commission.
The list has proven a true success with many countries having changed their laws and tax systems to comply with international standards.
Over the course of last year, the Commission assessed 92 countries based on three criteria: tax transparency, good governance, and real economic activity, as well as one indicator, the existence of a zero corporate tax rate.
Tuesday’s update shows that this clear, transparent and credible process delivered a real change: 60 countries took action on the Commission’s concerns and over 100 harmful regimes were eliminated.
The list has also had a positive influence on internationally agreed tax good governance standards.
Based on the Commission’s screening, ministers blacklisted 15 countries. Of those, 5 have taken no commitments since the first blacklist adopted in 2017: American Samoa, Guam, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, and US Virgin Islands.
Three others were on the 2017 list but were moved to the grey list following commitments they had taken but have now to be blacklisted again for not having followed up: Barbados, United Arab Emirates, and Marshall Islands.
A further 7 countries were moved from the grey list to the blacklist for the same reason: Aruba, Belize, Bermuda, Fiji, Oman, Vanuatu, and Dominica.
Another 34 countries will continue to be monitored in 2019 (grey list).
Following the commitments in 2017, many jurisdictions have now delivered the reforms and improvements that they promised, and 25 countries from the original screening process have now been cleared.
These jurisdictions are Andorra, Bahrain, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Grenada, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jersey, Korea, Liechtenstein, Macao SAR, Malaysia, Montserrat, New Caledonia, Panama, Peru, Qatar, San Marino, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turks and Caicos, and Uruguay.
A country will be removed from the list once it has addressed the issues of concern for the EU and has brought its tax system fully into line with the required good governance criteria. The Code of Conduct is responsible for updating the EU list and recommending countries for de-listing to the Council.
“The EU tax havens list is a true European success. It has had a resounding effect on tax transparency and fairness worldwide,” said Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs.
“Thanks to the listing process, dozens of countries have abolished harmful tax regimes and have come into line with international standards on transparency and fair taxation. The countries that did not comply have been blacklisted and will have to face the consequences that this brings. We are raising the bar of tax good governance globally and cutting out the opportunities for tax abuse,” he added. — NNN-ANDINA
