Replenishment in the black list of the European Union

The European Union is once again updating its list of tax havens. The EU Council has decided to update the list of territories that do not cooperate on tax issues and do not disclose their beneficiaries. This time, the state of Dominica joined the ranks of the participants of the "black list", and Barbados left.

The so-called "black list" of the European Union was created on the basis of the 4th EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD4). It includes territories and countries that do not cooperate with the EU on tax issues, or do not fulfill their obligations to implement relevant reforms. The list of EU jurisdictions was first compiled in December 2017 and has been updated twice a year since 2020.

When changing the list, the ratings, published recently by the OECD Global Forum, are taken into account. It is required that the jurisdiction at least "substantially complies" with the International Information Exchange Standard (EOIR). As a result, it was decided to include Dominika in the list, since it was rated "partially compliant" and has not yet solved this problem. Barbados was added to the EU list in October 2020. More recently, the Global Forum provided an additional review on jurisdiction, and therefore Barbados was proposed to be removed from the list.

There is also a "grey list", which includes jurisdictions that do not still comply with all the international tax standards, but have already committed themselves to take all appropriate measures and implement the principles of the proper tax management on their territory. This list has also undergone changes. Morocco, Namibia and Saint Lucia were excluded, as the States fulfilled their obligations. At the same time, Jamaica was added to the list, which now has committed to changing its tax regime by the end of 2022.