The EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes — Report by the Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxation) suggesting amendments to Annex II of the Council conclusions of 12 March 20192019/C 416/04
Date: 2019-12-11
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_2019416EN.01000901.xml










11.12.2019   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 416/9






The EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes — Report by the Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxation) suggesting amendments to Annex II of the Council conclusions of 12 March 2019
(2019/C 416/04)
With effect from the day of publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, Annex II of the Council conclusions of 12 March 2019 on the revised EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (1), as amended on 22 May 2019 (2), 21 June 2019 (3), 17 October 2019 (4) and 14 November 2019 (5), is replaced by the following new Annex II:


‘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 end 2019:

Palau and Turkey.

1.2.   Membership of the Global Forum on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes (‘Global Forum’) and satisfactory rating in relation to exchange of information on request

The following jurisdictions, which committed to have a sufficient rating by end 2018, are waiting for a supplementary review by the Global Forum:

Anguilla, Marshall Islands and Curaçao.

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

Palau, Turkey and Vietnam.

1.3.   Signatory and ratification of the OECD Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance (MAC) 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 end 2019:

Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Eswatini, Jordan, Maldives, Mongolia, Montenegro, Namibia, Palau, Thailand and Vietnam.

2.   Fair Taxation

2.1.   Existence of harmful tax regimes

The following jurisdiction, which committed to amend or abolish its harmful tax regimes covering manufacturing activities and similar non-highly mobile activities by end 2018 and demonstrated tangible progress in initiating these reforms in 2018, was granted until end 2019 to adapt its legislation:

Morocco.

The following jurisdictions, which committed to amend or abolish their harmful tax regimes by end 2018 but were prevented from doing so due to genuine institutional or constitutional issues despite tangible progress in 2018, were granted until end 2019 to adapt their legislation:

Cook Islands
and Maldives.

The following jurisdictions are committed to amend or abolish harmful tax regimes by end 2019:

Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Belize, Curaçao, Morocco, Namibia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Seychelles.

The following jurisdiction is committed to amend or abolish a harmful tax regime by end 2020:

Jordan.

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

The following jurisdictions, which committed to addressing the concerns relating to economic substance in the area of collective investment funds, have engaged in a positive dialogue with the Group and have remained cooperative, were granted until end 2019 to adapt their legislation:

Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands.

The following jurisdiction is committed to addressing the concerns related to economic substance by end 2019:

Barbados.

3.   Anti-BEPS Measures

3.1.   Membership of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS or commitment to implementation of OECD anti-BEPS minimum standards

The following jurisdictions are committed to become member of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS or implement OECD anti-BEPS minimum standards by end 2019:

Montenegro.

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

Nauru, Niue and Palau.


’.

(1)  OJ C 114, 26.3.2019, pp. 2-8.

(2)  OJ C 176, 22.5.2019, pp. 2-5.

(3)  OJ C 210, 21.6.2019, pp. 8-11.

(4)  OJ C 351, 17.10.2019, pp. 7-9.

(5)  OJ C 386, 14.11.2019, pp. 2–4.