MP Charles: TT Remains Blacklisted
Early today in Brussels the EU released its revised list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes with three jurisdictions added and three removed.
While the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica and Marshall Islands met the requirements for removal, T&T remains blacklisted..
According to the EU, those who remain listed did “not cooperate with the EU or have not fully met their commitments”.
This after the UNC supported every piece of legislation that came before Parliament that we were told would get us off this blacklist.
These included:
- The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)
- The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2019
- The Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters Bill, 2018, and
- The Tax Information Exchange Agreements Bill, 2018
- T&T Special Economic Zones Bill
We call on the Minister of Finance to tell us once and for all, what more needs to be done to get us off the EU blacklist? When this information is provided, we in the UNC stand ready to provide the necessary support to finally get TT off the EU blacklist.
The ball is entirely in the court of this PNM administration and this Finance Minister alone.
Since 2017, when we were first blacklisted, this Government has consistently failed at getting us removed.
Two countries have terminated taxation agreements with TT since. (Denmark effective Jan. 1st 2022 and Norway effective Jan. 1st 2024). Are we waiting for more countries to follow?
Rowley, Imbert and AG Armour appear to be treating this important matter with indifference, incompetence, laziness and sloth and they are unwittingly doing untold damage to our economy.