The EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes — Report by the Code of Conduct Group (Business taxation) suggesting amendments to the Annexes to the Council conclusions of 5 December 2017, including the de-listing of two jurisdictions
Date: 2018-06-05
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: administrative cooperation, business tax, code of conduct, exchange of information, international cooperation, international tax law, tax avoidance, tax evasion, third country








C_2018191EN.01000101.xml










5.6.2018   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 191/1





The EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes — Report by the Code of Conduct Group (Business taxation) suggesting amendments to the Annexes to the Council conclusions of 5 December 2017, including the de-listing of two jurisdictions
(2018/C 191/01)
With effect from the day of publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, Annexes I and II to the Council conclusions of 5 December 2017 on the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (1), as amended in January (2) and March (3) 2018, are replaced by the following new Annexes I and II:
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ANNEX I
The EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
1.   American Samoa

American Samoa does not apply any automatic exchange of financial information, has not signed and ratified, including through the jurisdiction they are dependent on, the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance as amended, does not apply the BEPS minimum standards and did not commit to addressing these issues by 31 December 2018.
2.   Guam

Guam does not apply any automatic exchange of financial information, has not signed and ratified, including through the jurisdiction they are dependent on, the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance as amended, does not apply the BEPS minimum standards and did not commit to addressing these issues by 31 December 2018.
3.   Namibia

Namibia is not a Member of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, has not signed and ratified the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance as amended, does not apply the BEPS minimum standards and did not commit to addressing these issues by 31 December 2019. Furthermore, Namibia has harmful preferential tax regimes and did not commit to amending or abolishing them by 31 December 2018.
4.   Palau

Palau facilitates offshore structures and arrangements aimed at attracting profits without real economic substance and refused to engage in a meaningful dialogue to ascertain its compliance of with criterion 2.2.
Palau’s commitment to comply with criteria 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 3 will be monitored.
5.   Samoa

Samoa has a harmful preferential tax regime and did not commit to addressing this issue by 31 December 2018.
Samoa’s commitment to comply with criterion 3 will be monitored.
6.   Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago has not signed and ratified the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters as amended, has a harmful preferential tax regime and did not commit to addressing these issues by 31 December 2018.
Trinidad and Tobago’s commitment to comply with criteria 1.1, 1.2 and 3 will be monitored.
7.   US Virgin Islands

US Virgin Islands does not apply any automatic exchange of financial information, has not signed and ratified, including through the jurisdiction they are dependent on, the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance as amended, has harmful preferential tax regimes and did not clearly commit to amending or abolishing it, does not apply the BEPS minimum standards and did not commit to addressing these issues by 31 December 2018.
’.
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ANNEX II
State of play of the cooperation with the EU with respect to commitments taken to implement tax good governance principles
1.   Transparency

1.1.   Commitment to implement the automatic exchange of information, either by signing the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement or through bilateral agreements

The following jurisdictions are committed to implement automatic exchange of information by 2018:

Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Oman, Qatar, Taiwan and United Arab Emirates

The following jurisdictions are committed to implement automatic exchange of information by 2019:

Turkey

1.2.   Membership of the Global Forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes and satisfactory rating

The following jurisdictions are committed to become member of the Global Forum and/or have a satisfactory rating by 2018:

Anguilla, Curaçao, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia and Oman

The following jurisdictions are committed to become member of the Global Forum and/or have a sufficient rating by 2019:

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Fiji, Jordan, Swaziland, Turkey and Vietnam

1.3.   Signatory and ratification of the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance or network of agreements covering all EU Member States

The following jurisdictions are committed to sign and ratify the MAC or to have in place a network of agreements covering all EU Member States by 2018:

Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Dominica, Grenada, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR, New Caledonia, Oman, Qatar, Taiwan and United Arab Emirates

The following jurisdictions are committed to sign and ratify the MAC or to have in place a network of agreements covering all EU Member States by 2019:

Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Fiji, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Jamaica, Jordan, Maldives, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Peru, Serbia, Swaziland, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam

2.   Fair Taxation

2.1.   Existence of harmful tax regimes

The following jurisdictions are committed to amend or abolish the identified regimes by 2018:

Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Cook Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Fiji, Grenada, Hong Kong SAR, Jordan, Korea (Republic of), Labuan Island, Liechtenstein, Macao SAR, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Morocco, Panama, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Seychelles, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Uruguay and Vietnam

2.2.   Existence of tax regimes that facilitate offshore structures which attract profits without real economic activity

The following jurisdictions are committed to addressing the concerns relating to economic substance by 2018:

Anguilla, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Marshall Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Arab Emirates and Vanuatu

3.   Anti-BEPS Measures

3.1.   Membership of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS or implementation of BEPS minimum standards

The following jurisdictions are committed to become member of the Inclusive Framework or implement BEPS minimum standard by 2018:

Aruba, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahrain, Cook Islands, Dominica, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Grenada, Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates and Vanuatu

The following jurisdictions are committed to become member of the Inclusive Framework or implement BEPS minimum standard by 2019:

Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cabo Verde, Fiji, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Jordan, Montenegro, Morocco and Swaziland

The following jurisdictions are committed to become member of the Inclusive Framework or implement BEPS minimum standard if and when such commitment will become relevant:

Nauru, Niue

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(1)  OJ C 438, 19.12.2017, p. 5.

(2)  OJ C 29, 26.1.2018, p. 2.

(3)  OJ C 100, 16.3.2018, p. 4 and OJ C 100, 16.3.2018, p. 5.