Seychelles set to be removed from EU tax haven blacklist ‒ Reuters   |29 September 2021

Seychelles is expected to be removed from the European Union blacklist of tax havens next week, according to news provider Reuters.

Seychelles, Dominica and Anguilla are to be removed from the bloc's blacklist of tax havens, while Panama has failed in its request to be delisted, according to the same article released by Reuters yesterday.

Still according to Reuters, which also wrote that it has seen proof of documents, European Union (EU) finance ministers are set to remove Seychelles, Dominica and Anguilla from the bloc's blacklist of tax havens when they meet on October 5, 2021.

The list was established in 2017 to counter widespread tax evasion and tax avoidance, and has been updated periodically to remove or add jurisdictions depending on their tax reforms.

EU tax experts have recommended the delisting of the Caribbean island of Dominica, the British Caribbean territory of Anguilla and Seychelles, mostly because they have committed to undergo a supplementary review of their tax systems with the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, the leading international body on tax evasion, the documents show.

The same article by Reuters notes that one EU document says the three jurisdictions are expected to be moved to the EU's "grey list" of countries that have shown commitment to tax reforms "pending the outcome of such supplementary review".

The decision needs the approval of EU finance ministers at a meeting on October 5, 2021. Reuters adds that the EU ministers usually rubber-stamp tax recommendations, but in this case one member state has expressed a reservation about one of the affected jurisdictions, one of the EU documents says, without elaborating.

States that are blacklisted are subject to stricter controls on transactions with the EU.

Reuters adds that under the proposals it has seen, no country will be added to the blacklist, and Turkey will remain in the "grey list" as it continues to oppose automatic exchange of tax information with EU member Cyprus.

If all the proposed changes are approved, the updated blacklist will comprise nine jurisdictions: American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands and Vanuatu.

Compiled by Gerard Govinden