The European Council has removed the Bahamas and Saint Kitts and Nevis from the EU’s list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions.
The EU’s list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, which was established in December 2017, is part of an ongoing effort to prevent tax fraud, promote tax transparency, fair taxation and implementation of anti-BEPS standards.
The two jurisdiction were removed from the list after having made commitments at a high political level to ‘remedy EU concerns’. The decision was reached at a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, without discussion.
Implementation of their commitments will be monitored by the working group responsible for the listing process.
Following the removal of the Bahamas and Saint Kitts and Nevis, seven jurisdictions remain on the list: American Samoa, Guam, Namibia, Palau, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, and the US Virgin Islands.
Bulgaria’s minister for finance Vladislav Goranov commented: “Having fewer jurisdictions on the list is a measure of the success of the listing process. As jurisdictions around the world work to reform their tax policies, our challenge for the rest of the year will be to see that their commitments have been correctly implemented.”
