We are pleased to advise that the Council of the European Union confirmed on 6 October 2020 that the Cayman Islands has been removed from its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions in tax matters (the EU's 'blacklist'). ECOFIN has graded Cayman as a cooperative jurisdiction with respect to tax good governance, endorsing the assessment of the EU's Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation that Cayman has addressed the outstanding concerns previously raised by the EU.
Appleby welcomes the EU's recognition of Cayman as a jurisdiction that operates to the highest international standards. We join Cayman Finance in its statement that, "the EU's recognition of the Cayman Islands as cooperative on both transparency and fair taxation is an important validation of Cayman's commitment to a responsible policy of tax neutrality that poses no harm to other countries. The EU now joins many other respected international entities like the OECD in identifying the Cayman Islands as a transparent jurisdiction without harmful tax regimes. We greatly appreciate the Cayman Islands Government's cooperation and working relationship with the EU over many years that helped produce this outcome.