Council conclusions on the revised EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes 2023/C 64/06

Following the latest review, the European Council (EC) decided to add the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, the Marshall Islands, and Russia to the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. Based upon the latest assessment of the Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation (Code of Conduct Group), the EC determined to (re-)list the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, and Marshall Islands due to concerns that they are attracting profits without real economic activity. In the case of Russia, the country has recently modified its International Holding Companies regime which contravenes European business taxation conventions. The updated list is noted below:
1. American Samoa
2. Anguilla
3. Bahamas
4. British Virgin Islands
5. Costa Rica
6. Fiji
7. Guam
8. Marshall Islands
9. Palau
10. Panama
11. Russian Federation
12. Samoa
13. Trinidad and Tobago
14. Turks and Caicos Islands
15. US Virgin Islands
16. Vanuatu
The list covering jurisdictions that do not yet comply with all international tax standards but that have committed to implementing tax good governance principles (Annex II) now includes the following jurisdictions after North Macedonia, Barbados, Jamaica, and Uruguay were removed from the list following the successful fulfillment of their commitments and after Aruba and Curaçao newly committed to good governance principles and were subsequently added to the list:
1. Albania
2. Armenia
3. Aruba
4. Belize
5. Botswana
6. Curaçao
7. Dominica
8. Eswatini
9. Hong Kong
10. Israel
11. Jordan
12. Malaysia
13. Monserrat
14. Qatar
15. The Seychelles
16. Thailand
17. Turkey
18. Vietnam
The EU list is part of ongoing efforts to prevent tax avoidance and to promote principles of good governance such as tax transparency, fair taxation or international standards against tax base erosion and profit shifting.