St Lucia to be removed from EU blacklist
According to Reuters, the European Union will soon remove Saint Lucia, along with the Marshall Islands and Bahrain, from its blacklist of countries deemed to be tax havens.
The decision was made by the EU Code of Conduct Group of tax experts from the 28 member states following “specific commitments” by these three countries to bring their tax system up to EU standards. It is expected to be endorsed and made official at EU finance ministers’ monthly meeting on March 13 in Brussels.
From the original blacklist of 17 countries, only six remain: American Samoa, Guam, Namibia, Palau, Samoa and Trinidad and Tobago.
Delisted countries are moved to a ‘grey list’ comprised of those countries who have committed to changes but are not yet in compliance with EU standards. If a ‘grey listed’ country fails to make the appropriate changes, they may be blacklisted again.
After facing criticism from the handling of the blacklisting from the opposition, Senior Communications Officer of the Office of the Prime Minister, Nicole Mc Donald released a statement in which she said:
“The Government of Saint Lucia is aware of the issues associated with being on this list and have always been committed to working with the EU toward tax transparency. The blacklisting of Saint Lucia is not an issue that occurred overnight and Government must take everything into account because even as we are committed to tax transparency and the exchange of information we must also simultaneously stimulate growth in the economy, to provide a favourable environment for our people to live, work and invest.
Hence, yes, this takes dialogue with the EU so we can state our position, efforts made and decide on a way forward. For some, myopic in their view, a quick fix, “send the letter, sign on the dotted line” might seem like the only option, but a Prime Minister and Government must consider the consequential effects.”
Opposition leader Philip J, Pierre reacted to Mc Donald in a statement which said, “In the latest response the Government Communications Director attempts in a lengthy ramble to give reasons why Saint Lucia remains on the blacklist while Barbados and Grenada have been removed even if they were blacklisted with Saint Lucia last year.”
He continued, “The question is why did Saint Lucia not make the necessary arrangements and commitments like Barbados to ensure that we were removed from the list in January 2018?
Is there a reason why the UWP Government is persisting with its negligence and refusal to give appropriate priority to this very important and urgent issue? The Government has had ample time to take corrective measures.
We must now wonder whether there is a more sinister reason which is keeping the hands of the Government tied. Has the Government made commitments based on its loose Base and Profit Shifting (Sharing) policy which has tied its hands? The public has the right to know.”
