The EU has published list of uncooperative tax jurisdictions for the year 2025, under the new updated list published in Feb 2025.
Among the listed countries, Turkiye, Vanuatu and Antigua & Barbuda run citizenship by investment programs.
- Vanuatu has been listed as uncooperative tax jurisdiction
- Turkiye has been listed in list of cooperative tax jurisdiction.
- Antigua and Barbuda has been moved from list of uncooperative countries to cooperative countries list.
Uncooperative
No new jurisdictions were added to the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions (Annex I), which currently comprises 11 third-country jurisdictions:
- American Samoa,
- Anguilla,
- Fiji,
- Guam,
- Palau,
- Panama,
- Russian Federation,
- Samoa,
- Trinidad & Tobago,
- US Virgin Islands, and
- Vanuatu.
Cooperative
Eight jurisdictions have made commitments to improve their tax governance frameworks, which are registered in the list of cooperative jurisdictions (Annex II). These jurisdictions include
- Antigua and Barbuda,
- Belize,
- British Virgin Islands,
- Brunei Darussalam,
- Eswatini,
- Seychelles,
- Türkiye, and
- VietNam.
Tax Deficiencies
The EU has identified tax deficiencies such as:
Antigua and Barbuda – Has a “Partially Compliant” rating by the Global Forum in relation to exchange of information on request4 but will undergo an in-depth review to obtain a higher rating
Turkiye – Has not exchanged financial account information with all EU Member States.
Vanuatu – Facilitates offshore structures and arrangements by not having in place adequate legislation for companies to meet obligations regarding substantial economic activities and by not exchanging information with partner jurisdictions regarding these companies. Has a “Partially Compliant” rating by the Global Forum in relation to exchange of information on request and will undergo an in-depth review to obtain a higher rating.
Consequences
The direct consequences of blacklisting are various sanctions by EU member countries, including
- Increased scrutiny by banks on transactions originating from blacklisted jurisdictions.
- Causes reputation damage from EU lenders to source money or access funds.
- Discourages EU companies to invest in blacklisted countries
- Higher withholding taxes on payments received in blacklisted jurisdictions.
