EU Blacklist: Back to black

EU blacklist – Introduction

On February 14, 2023, the Council of the European Union made changes to the list of countries that do not cooperate with the EU on tax matters.

This is called the “EU blacklist”.

New additions to EU Blacklist

Four new countries were added to the list:

• British Virgin Islands,
• Costa Rica,
• Marshall Islands, and
• Russia.

With these additions, the EU blacklist list now has 16 countries on it. The other countries are as follows:

• American Samoa
• Anguilla
• Fiji
• Guam
• Palau
• Panama
• Samoa
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Turks and Caicos
• US Virgin Islands
• Vanuatu

The Council gave reasons for adding these countries.

Marshall Islands

For example, the Marshall Islands was added because they have a tax system that encourages businesses to move profits offshore without any real economic activity.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica was added because they do not provide enough information about tax matters, and they have tax policies that are considered harmful. Russia was added for the same reason.

Bahamas

The Bahamas was previously removed from the EU blacklist in 2018 but was added back in 2022 and remains on the list.

Conclusion

The new list will be officially published in the Official Journal of the EU, and the next revision will take place in October 2023.

If you have any queries relating to the EU Blacklist or tax matters more generally, then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

The content of this article is provided for educational and information purposes only. It is not intended, and should not be construed, as tax or legal advice. We recommend you seek formal tax and legal advice before taking, or refraining from, any action based on the contents of this article.