Definant? EU blacklists The Bahamas, Anguilla, and the Turks and Caicos Islands

By Shanieka Smith & Dana Malcolm

Editorial Staff

#TurksandCaicos, October 12, 2022 – The European Council said that regrettably, the 12 jurisdictions on the list are defiant with regard to tax matters, however, they are being encouraged to address these issues by becoming engaging with the EU’s Code of Conduct Group and among them are Anguilla, Turks and Caicos, and The Bahamas.

The three Caribbean region countries were recently added to the European Union’s (EU) tax haven blacklist which comprises non-cooperative jurisdictions and was assembled by the EU in December 2017 with the aim to promote good tax governance globally.

Still, Oxfam tax expert Chiara Putaturo in expressing his disapproval, said the blacklist is a “whitewash”.  He stated that the criteria are unfair for countries outside of Europe, especially since European countries such as Malta have been overlooked.

The blacklisting comes just weeks after Bahamian Prime Minister Philip Davis complained that some tax grading schemes were skewed; he said this at the most recent UN General Assembly in New York.

The Turks and Caicos Islands was gray-listed in March this year.  At that time, E Jay Saunders, Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier had announced he would produce to fix it.

For Turks and Caicos is it not fixed; the situation is worsened with the overseas territory going from gray to black on this highly regarded watchdog listing.

Typically, the EU adds gray listed countries to the blacklist if they do not complete the reforms to which they’ve committed in due time.

The Bahamas Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Israel, Montserrat, Russia, Tunisia and Vietnam are also grey-listed. 

Deputy Premier Sanders told our newsroom he will be addressing the nation in a press conference soon on the issue.

Two years prior, the European Union had made a commitment to revise the list however to date nothing has been done.  Of the 20 jurisdictions listed by the Tax Justice Network as the world’s worst corporate tax havens only one is currently on the blacklist.  Similarly, only one which was identified by Oxfam in 2016 is on the list.

Putaturo stated that by putting an end to tax havens the “world’s richest and corporates” would now have to pay their dues fairly and this would in turn lower the cost of living for people and reduce the stress placed on governments across the world.

The European Union will next update is list in February 2023.