The EU Commission has confirmed its continued endorsement of Guernsey as a cooperative jurisdiction following a meeting between officials in Brussels.
Guernsey has a strong record in meeting international standards as a cooperative and transparent jurisdiction, including being an 'early adopter' of the common reporting standards ahead of some European countries.
Guernsey’s chief minister, Jonathan Le Tocq, has written to European tax commissioner Pierre Moscovici, stating: “Guernsey welcomes the commission’s confirmation at the meeting that it considers Guernsey to be a cooperative jurisdiction.”
“This recognises Guernsey’s adherence to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and Global Forum international standards on transparency and information exchange, but also that our corporate tax regime has been assessed as compliant with the EU’s code of conduct on corporate taxation, and hence not containing harmful measures.”
The endorsement from the EU comes soon after the commission included Guernsey on a ‘black list’ of uncooperative jurisdictions.
The list was widely criticised, including by the OECD, for a lack of transparent and consistent methodology and has subsequently had its name changed for clarity.
Dominic Wheatley, chief executive of Guernsey, commented: "We welcome the EU's endorsement of Guernsey as a cooperative jurisdiction which is fully consistent with the findings of its Code of Conduct Group on Corporate Taxation in 2012.”
“This clarification should give full confidence to all those looking to do business in Guernsey and enjoy the high quality of the financial business environment here."
