Blacklisted!

Friday 04 September 2015

Jersey has been placed on a US “tax haven black list”.

The Island is one of 39 jurisdictions on the list – including Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Gibraltar – which has been published by the US District of Columbia.

The list includes jurisdictions that prevented the exchange of tax information, lacked transparency or created a tax regime “favourable for tax avoidance”.

It’s not immediately clear what the implications would be or when the change will come into force.

But the Chief Minister’s department says that the listing is a mistake, because it is based on out-of-date information.

A statement from a government spokesman said: “The list compiled by the District of Columbia uses information that is not up-to-date.

“We will be working with appropriate authorities in the District of Columbia to update the list, as well as to challenge the outdated and inappropriate label of 'tax havens' they have applied to the list.”

The announcement comes months after US Deputy Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Blanco praised the Island’s support in asset-recovery while he was here to sign a partnership agreement between the US and the Island’s prosecution service.

At the time, he said: “The consistent and reliable cooperation we receive from our counterparts in Jersey has been indispensable to our efforts to recover many millions of dollars in criminal assets from abroad.

“Because a number of pending U.S. investigations and prosecutions involve assets located in this important international financial centre, today’s agreement can be expected to serve as a useful tool for asset recovery and sharing in the future.”

Jersey has had a Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the United States of America since 2006.