SVG removed from EU worst tax havens list

This country has been removed from a European Union worst tax havens list.

Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves announced this on Monday during a meeting at Cabinet Room, stating that Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi had sent a letter informing him of St Vincent and the Grenadines’ removal from the tax list.{{more}}

Gonsalves said that he had reported the unfair listing of this country on the tax blacklist back in September when he met Renzi at the United Nations and as of January 1, 2016, SVG’s name was removed.

Gonsalves said that he had indicated to Renzi that the listing was ridiculous and that we had complied with all the standards.

“….this is good news, but of course, we should not have been there in the first place, but sometimes as a small country, we find ourselves going up the down escalator. You do all you have to do, then completely outside of the left field, a country comes with something that is ridiculous and you have to defend yourself,” said Gonsalves.

The list was made up of 13 other Caribbean countries that were said to be the worst tax havens/non-cooperative jurisdictions by the European Union.

The listing had come on the heels of this country being given clean reports by other agencies, including the OECD, that monitor and report on matters of compliance within the international financial services sector.(LC)