The European Commission (EC) announced that European Union (EU) member states have updated the list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions. The update confirmed that Antigua and Barbuda have been removed from Annex I (the blacklist), while Armenia and Malaysia have been removed from Annex II (the grey list). However, Antigua and Barbuda will remain in Annex II pending the outcome of a review.

With these updates, the list now includes 11 jurisdictions: American Samoa, Anguilla, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Russia, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu.

The Council regrets that these jurisdictions have not yet cooperated on tax matters and invites them to improve their legal framework to resolve the identified issues.

The EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes was established in December 2017. It is part of the EU’s external strategy on taxation and aims to contribute to ongoing efforts to promote tax good governance worldwide.

Jurisdictions are assessed on the basis of a set of criteria laid down by the Council. These criteria cover tax transparency, fair taxation and implementation of international standards designed to prevent tax base erosion and profit shifting.

Reasons for removing Antigua and Barbuda from the list

Antigua and Barbuda was included in the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes in October 2023, after a negative assessment from the OECD Global Forum with regard to exchange of information on request.

Following changes to the applicable rules in Antigua and Barbuda, the Global Forum has granted it a supplementary review, which will be undertaken in the near future. Pending the outcome of this review, Antigua and Barbuda have been included in the relevant section of Annex II.

In addition, two jurisdictions that have been listed for an extended period of time, namely Fiji and Palau, have made promising steps towards compliance with the listing criteria, and this has been reflected in their entries in the list.