“Foreign Minister” welcomes removal from Italian black list

Thursday 07 January 2016

Jersey has been removed from an Italian “black list” of unco-operative tax jurisdictions.

The move has been welcomed by External Relations Minister Philip Bailhache, who said that his staff had been working hard behind the scenes to make their case to the Italian government.

And Ogier Partner Marcus Leese says that the news – which means that both Jersey and Guernsey will be placed on an Italian ‘White List’ in the coming weeks – is good for business.

The Italian authorities have confirmed that a ministerial decree early this year will confirm that Jersey is no longer “blacklisted” by Italy.

In a statement, Senator Bailhache said: “I warmly welcome this announcement by the Italian Government.

“We have made a number of representations to the Italian authorities highlighting our cooperation in matters of tax information exchange.

“It was firmly our view that there was no justification for Jersey remaining on a ‘black list’ and I was therefore gratified to learn of our removal from this list.”

 Advocate Leese said that the move would enable Italian resident investors to invest into Jersey and Guernsey domiciled structures.

He said: “It’s exceptionally pleasing that the huge efforts which Guernsey and Jersey have made over the past two decades or more to implement a world-class regulatory regime for financial services, a robust AML framework and an appropriately balanced regime for the exchange of relevant tax information is now being recognised and major jurisdictions, such as Italy, are appreciating the positive and supportive role that offshore financial centres such as Guernsey and Jersey can play in their own economic development.”