Cayman Islands removed from EU List of Non-Cooperative Tax Jurisdictions

The Cayman Islands has been removed from the European Union’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.

The Cayman Islands Government and other stakeholders in the jurisdiction’s financial services industry welcomed the news announced on 6th October 2020. The EU’s decision is recognition of the Cayman Islands’ sustained efforts to meet EU regulatory requirements on tax transparency, and continuing its focus on expanding the regulatory framework for investment funds, and extending the scope of anti-money laundering regulation.

Since 2018 the Cayman Islands has introduced a large number of legislative measures (including amendments to the Mutual Funds Law and a new Private Funds Law to implement new rules for the registration and regulation of investment funds) to meet EU demands on tax matters.

The Cayman Islands was placed on the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes in February 2020. The removal comes as part of the first review of the list since February 2020.

Government and Industry Responses

The CEO of Cayman Finance, an organization which represents Cayman’s financial services industry responded to the news by stating: “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 Cayman Islands Government welcomed the news, issuing a statement in which the Premier, Alden McLaughlin stated; “Cayman responded positively by expanding the scope of our funds regime to ensure that the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, our financial services regulator, has the legal mandate to supervise all Cayman-based investment funds.”   

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