Antigua And Barbuda Removed From The EU List Of Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions For Tax Purposes

  • On October 8, 2024, the European Union (EU) Council removed Antigua and Barbuda from the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. With this change, the list now consists of the following 11 jurisdictions: American Samoa, Anguilla, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Russia, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, US Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu.
  • 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 concerning the exchange of information on request.  According to EU officials, the delisting followed “significant reforms” to Antigua and Barbuda’s tax framework. It has granted the country a supplementary review, which will be conducted in the coming months.
  • Earlier this year, Antigua’s Parliament passed the Money Services Business (Transfer) Levy Act 2024, which made changes to the country’s 2002 Tax Information Exchange Act, 2007 International Foundations Act, International Trusts Act, and International Limited Liability Companies Act, the 2008 Corporate Management and Trust Service Providers Act, 2018 Tax Administration and Procedure Act and the International Business Corporations Act. The changes include the introduction of a standardized definition of “beneficial owner” and the implementation of annual attestation reports on beneficial ownership and control.
  • Prime Minister Gaston Browne, in the Act’s explanatory notes, said that “the purpose of the Act is to ensure that beneficial owners are correctly identified, and that ownership information is available in all cases and is in accordance with international standard.”
  • The EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes was established in December 2017 as part of the EU’s external strategy on taxation. Jurisdictions are assessed based on a set of criteria laid down by the Council, covering tax transparency, fair taxation and implementation of international standards designed to prevent tax base erosion and profit shifting in EU countries. Since 2020, the Council has updated the list twice a year, with the next revision of the list scheduled for February 2025.

(Sources: European Union & Antigua Observer)