07/01/20

GUERNSEY: Continues to Remain on Netherlands Blacklist.

As published on internationalinvestment.net, Tuesday January 7, 2020.

Guernsey is to remain on Netherlands' list of low-tax jurisdictions for the purposes of enforcing certain anti-tax avoidance rules, the Dutch Ministry of Finance announced.

The Dutch blacklist contains eight jurisdictions that are currently banned by the EU, as well as a further 15 low-tax jurisdictions, including Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man.

Jurisdictions named on the list, which have corporate tax rates of less than 9%, fall within the scope of new Dutch controlled foreign companies (CFC) rules, which became effective from January 1, 2019, under the framework of the EU's Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive.

"By drawing up its own stringent blacklist, the Netherlands is once again showing that it is serious in its fight against tax avoidance"

"By drawing up its own stringent blacklist, the Netherlands is once again showing that it is serious in its fight against tax avoidance," said State Secretary for Finance Menno Snel. "And that's just one of the steps we're taking."

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Belize have been removed from the list after analysis revealed that their corporate taxes were above 9%.

The changes mean that the jurisdictions on the Dutch tax blacklist are as follows: Anguilla, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, Jersey, the Cayman Islands, Turkmenistan, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Vanuatu, and the United Arab Emirates.

A further seven jurisdictions are currently on the Dutch list, including American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands, Fiji, Guam, Oman, and Trinidad and Tobago. This is because the Netherlands also follows the European Union's list of low-tax jurisdictions.

Ireland, which offers a corporate tax rate of 6.25% for revenue tied to a company's patent or intellectual property, is not on the list. Guernsey has a zero rate of corporation tax.