bermudan flag

Bermuda blacklisted by European Union as a non-cooperative tax jurisdiction

Bermuda was placed on an updated blacklist as a non-cooperative tax jurisdiction by the European Union. The EU hopes that this will inspire Bermuda, as well the other captive domiciles on the list, to take the concept of tax evasion and avoidance seriously, and keep globe financial in order.

Bermuda is listed alongside Aruba, Barbados, Guam, Vanuatu, and the US Virgin Islands. The creation of the updated EU blacklist was a result of a European Commission directed research and investigation. This time there were 10 new countries added to the updated list, which means 15 total jurisdictions are currently on it.

The general criteria for the EU blacklist involves three things. The first was tax transparency, which makes all financial actions easily visible in order to avoid any chance of hidden corruption. The second is good governance that will assure all financial actions are being monitored efficiently by a selected party. The third is the rate of economic activity and the verification of that activity to assure that there is a real, steady, and prospering economic flow.

There is also a greylist that includes a total of 34 countries at this time. This list is for those who will still need to be monitored in the future. Included on this list are such captive domiciles as Anguilla, Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, the Cook Islands, Mauritius, Saint Kitts, and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Switzerland.

The Cayman Islands, which has recently been involved in a number of tax-related cases, is also on the greylist.

There were also a few who have recently been removed from the greylist including Guernsey, Bahrain, Hong Kong, the Isle of Man, Jersey, and Turks and Caicos.

The commissioner for economic and financial affairs, taxation, and customs at the European Commission, Pierre Moscovici, believes that the list is a success and that it “had a resounding effect on tax transparency and fairness worldwide.”.

Moscovici continues by stating “Thanks to the listing process, dozens of countries have abolished harmful tax regimes and have come into line with international standards on transparency and fair taxation.” and “The countries that did not comply have been blacklisted and will have to face the consequences that this brings. We are raising the bar of tax good governance globally and cutting out the opportunities for tax abuse.”.

To learn more about cases like this or to stay up-to-date on the latest legal proceedings, check out the Jeff Newman Law Whistleblower Help Center and blog!.