Barbados Removed From European Union List Of Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions

• Barbados has been removed from the European Union’s (EU) state-of-play document (Annex II), which means the island has been deemed compliant with tax requirements.
• Barbados was added to the EU list in October 2020 after it received a ‘partially compliant’ rating released by the OECD Global Forum for Transparency and Exchange of Information (Global Forum). It has now been granted a supplementary review by the Global Forum and has therefore been moved to a state-of-play document pending the outcome of this review.
• The state-of-play document identifies cooperative jurisdictions which have made further improvements to their tax policies or related cooperation. It reflects the ongoing EU cooperation with international partners and the commitments of these countries to reform their legislation to adhere to agreed tax good governance standards. For the purposes of the list, the EU requires jurisdictions to be at least ‘largely compliant’ with the international standard on transparency and exchange of information on request (EOIR).
• Minister of Energy and Business, Senator Lisa Cummins, said the announcement followed substantial work by government officials and stakeholders, from last November until now. The minister explained that officials in the International Business Unit, the Barbados Revenue Authority, the Barbados International Business Association, and all of the service providers, including members of the Barbados Bar Association, worked earnestly on this matter.
• Acknowledging that there was still more work to be done going forward, Senator Cummins gave the assurance that government would continue working with the Forum on Harmful Tax Practices, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and sovereign jurisdictions.

(Source: Caribbean National Weekly)