Channel Islands Brussels Office (CIBO)
On 24 July, the Director General of DG TAXUD, Mr Heinz Zourek, invited representatives of the jurisdictions included in the Commission’s 17 June “pan-EU list” to a meeting. Steve Williams represented Guernsey, as one of the jurisdictions included on this list.
In a constructive and forward looking discussion, the Commission confirmed that the 17 June list was not an “EU black list” and nor had it ever been intended for it to be considered or used as such. The Commission also confirmed its intention to rename the list in order to make it clear that it is not a list of “non cooperative” jurisdictions.
On the contrary, Guernsey is widely recognized, including by the Commission, as a cooperative jurisdiction. Like Jersey, Guernsey adheres to the OECD and Global Forum international standards on transparency and information exchange, and has a corporate tax regime that has been assessed as compliant with the EU’s Code of Conduct on Business Taxation, and hence not containing harmful measures as set out in the Code.
