The EU Council issued a press release on February 8, 2024, stating that Antigua and Barbuda will be removed from its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (tax haven list). In our March newsletter, we already reported that the Council decided to remove the Bahamas, Belize, Seychelles, and the Turks and Caicos Islands from its list.
The current EU list consists of 11 countries and territories: Anguilla, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Russia, Samoa, American Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu.
It is notable that Panama remains on the list, despite the fact that the Commission removed it from the list of high-risk third countries for the EU financial system.
The objective criteria used by the EU are those of good tax governance, which include tax transparency, fair taxation, and the implementation of international standards designed to prevent base erosion and profit shifting.
Spain, for its part, maintains its own list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, published in Order HFP/115/2023 of February 9. We highlight that, unlike the EU list, the Spanish list does not include either Russia or Panama.
The Spanish list (published in the Official State Gazette on 10-02-2023) includes 24 countries and territories: Anguilla, Bahrain, Barbados, Bermuda, Dominica, Fiji, Gibraltar, Guam, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Mariana Islands, Solomon Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Jersey, Palau, Samoa (offshore business), American Samoa, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, Vanuatu.
Spain List (Official State Gazette 10 February 2023):
- Anguilla
- Bahrain
- Barbados
- Bermuda
- Dominica
- Fiji
- Gibraltar
- Guam
- Guernsey
- Isle of Man
- Cayman Islands
- Falkland Islands
- Mariana Islands
- Solomon Islands
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- British Virgin Islands
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Jersey
- Palau
- Samoa (offshore business)
- American Samoa
- Seychelles
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Vanuatu
EU List (latest changes October 8, 2024):
- Anguilla
- Fiji
- Guam
- U.S. Virgin Islands
- Palau
- Panama
- Russia
- Samoa (offshore business)
- American Samoa
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Vanuatu
As we can see, we still do not have a truly unified list:
We highlight that the EU includes Panama and Russia, while Spain has not updated its own list since February 2023 and does not include these two jurisdictions.
It is also noteworthy that Spain has a double taxation agreement with Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago. However, as we can see, these two territories are included in the list.
Looking at the differences between the two lists, one could assume that the criteria of the EU and the Spanish authorities for considering a jurisdiction non-cooperative differ.
We remind you that Spanish tax regulations regarding operations with non-cooperative jurisdictions include, among other provisions:
- Expenses for services performed with companies residing in non-cooperative jurisdictions are considered non-deductible (Article 15 g) of the Corporate Income Tax Law), unless the taxpayer proves that the expense was incurred as a result of a real and effectively executed transaction.
- Inclusion of all operations in the informative declaration form 232, regardless of the amount and the connection between the parties.
- All operations carried out with these territories must be valued at market prices (and be able to prove this in case of a potential request from the Spanish Tax Agency).
At Feliu N&I, we specialize in analyzing the tax implications derived from operations conducted in such jurisdictions and can provide support in key areas such as valuation and documentation, resulting tax obligations, and the preparation and submission of informative declarations.
