Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves says St Vincent & the Grenadines has been removed from a French blacklist of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions.
He told Parliament that Paris' decision to place the island on the blacklist was unilateral since the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2010 declared St Vincent & the Grenadines 'clean'.
The country's Ministry of Finance welcomed the decision.
In 2010, France 'blacklisted' 18 countries around the world as being uncooperative tax havens and advised that it would be imposing punitive taxes on French companies operating in these jurisdictions.
Several other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, including Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Montserrat, St Kitts & Nevis, and St Lucia, were also placed on the list.
The OECD is the international body with oversight of international tax transparency and places countries on 'black', 'grey' or 'white' lists, depending on their level of cooperation,.
Gonsalves said France is a member of the OECD and its action to compile its own blacklist was unilateral and separate from the action taken by the OECD.
Grey-listed
Several Caribbean countries, including St Vincent & the Grenadines, were grey-listed in April 2009 for not demonstrating a commitment, even though they had showed a willingness to comply with international tax standard of transparency.
But the country was removed from the list less than a year after as it had completed the requisite number of Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) - over 12 - to illustrate its commitment to tax transparency and exchange.
"St Vincent and the Grenadines has no history of being uncooperative with France but appears to have qualified for inclusion on the blacklist by reasons of operating an international financial services industry. St Vincent & the Grenadines, at this time, would have already completed 18 TIEAs, more than the number required to meet the international standards," Gonsalves told legislators.
The prime minister said "elections are coming on in France and we have the drumbeat again of non-cooperative jurisdictions and also 'the French blacklist'. And I see several Caribbean countries they have on it."
He went on to say: "It is as though people are looking for excuses for the meltdown in their own countries, in the United States and Europe, with a lack of proper regulation and they all the like to try and blame other people for their problems."
He added that Caribbean nations "had nothing to do with the crash of international capitalism".
- CMC
He told Parliament that Paris' decision to place the island on the blacklist was unilateral since the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2010 declared St Vincent & the Grenadines 'clean'.
The country's Ministry of Finance welcomed the decision.
In 2010, France 'blacklisted' 18 countries around the world as being uncooperative tax havens and advised that it would be imposing punitive taxes on French companies operating in these jurisdictions.
Several other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, including Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Belize, Dominica, Montserrat, St Kitts & Nevis, and St Lucia, were also placed on the list.
The OECD is the international body with oversight of international tax transparency and places countries on 'black', 'grey' or 'white' lists, depending on their level of cooperation,.
Gonsalves said France is a member of the OECD and its action to compile its own blacklist was unilateral and separate from the action taken by the OECD.
Grey-listed
Several Caribbean countries, including St Vincent & the Grenadines, were grey-listed in April 2009 for not demonstrating a commitment, even though they had showed a willingness to comply with international tax standard of transparency.
But the country was removed from the list less than a year after as it had completed the requisite number of Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) - over 12 - to illustrate its commitment to tax transparency and exchange.
"St Vincent and the Grenadines has no history of being uncooperative with France but appears to have qualified for inclusion on the blacklist by reasons of operating an international financial services industry. St Vincent & the Grenadines, at this time, would have already completed 18 TIEAs, more than the number required to meet the international standards," Gonsalves told legislators.
The prime minister said "elections are coming on in France and we have the drumbeat again of non-cooperative jurisdictions and also 'the French blacklist'. And I see several Caribbean countries they have on it."
He went on to say: "It is as though people are looking for excuses for the meltdown in their own countries, in the United States and Europe, with a lack of proper regulation and they all the like to try and blame other people for their problems."
He added that Caribbean nations "had nothing to do with the crash of international capitalism".
- CMC
