Captive domiciles Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey were not featured on the European Union’s first list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions blacklist.
The new list is part of the EU's work to clamp down on tax evasion and avoidance. In total, 17 countries were listed for “failing to meet agreed tax good governance standards”.
Although they avoided the EU’s blacklist, Bermuda and Cayman Islands, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Vanuatu have committed to introduce substance requirements.
The Cook Islands, and Vanuatu have also vowed to apply Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) measures.
BEPS refers to tax avoidance strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low- or no-tax locations.
The OECD proposed changes to international laws for the BEPS project aim to tackle aggressive tax planning, which could affect the way captives approach tax and transparency.
It specifically named captives as a potential vehicle for tax avoidance, meaning that they are likely to be subject to increased scrutiny.
Countries have made these commitments to address “deficiencies in their tax systems and to meet the required criteria, following contacts within the EU”.
Pierre Moscovici, commissioner for economic and financial affairs for taxation and customs, said: “We must intensify the pressure on listed countries to change their ways. Blacklisted jurisdictions must face consequences in the form of dissuasive sanctions, while those that have made commitments must follow up on them quickly and credibly.”
He added: “There must be no naivety: promises must be turned into actions. No one must get a free pass."
The EU listing process will continue in 2018.
