Request
What contingency plan has the Government got in place should the EU place Jersey onto a Blacklist for its Zero Corporation Tax Policy?
Response
The Government of Jersey has been working closely with the EU Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxation) during its work to assess over 90 jurisdictions on cooperation in tax matters.
The criteria on which the EU’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions has been decided were agreed at the November 2016 meeting of EU Finance Ministers (ECOFIN). The existence of zero or no corporate tax was not one of those criteria. The criteria against which jurisdictions have been assessed relate to the international standards of transparency and information exchange, and whether the business activities in a jurisdiction have real substance.
On the 5 December 2017 ECOFIN confirmed Jersey’s position as a cooperative jurisdiction. The Government will work with the Code Group during 2018 to identify and agree potential changes that may be needed to address concerns that have been raised around economic substance.
Jersey will maintain its long-standing ‘good neighbour’ policy with the EU, and Ministers and officers will continue to conduct an ongoing programme of engagement with counterparts in EU capitals, in Brussels and in London to ensure the position and interests of the Island, and our significant economic contribution to Europe, are well understood.
