EU removes Bermuda from tax haven blacklist

The European Union has removed Bermuda from its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions in tax matters, also known as the tax haven blacklist.

Following a meeting of EU finance ministers on May 17, both Aruba and Barbados have also been removed.

Bermuda, Aruba and Barbados had been added to the blacklist in March 2019 after not modifying their tax regimes to comply with rules set by the EU Code of Conduct Group in December 2017, which relate to tax transparency, fair taxation, and the commitment to anti-base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) measures. They were given 12 months to comply with the new rules.

Premier David Burt and finance minister Curtis Dickinson had explained to European tax officials the reasons for which there was a technical omission in its Economic Substance Regulations submission - which has now been corrected to the satisfaction of European authorities.

Burt explained that one paragraph in the regulations, which appeared to be a duplication in almost identical language in a draft, was “unintentionally omitted”. He said that despite the omission being discovered and immediately addressed, the reinsertion of the omitted line “appears not to have been good enough for the EU”.

Other jurisdictions still on the blacklist include Belize, Dominica, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Vanuatu.