Jersey is removed from Portuguese black list

Friday 13 January 2017

The Portuguese Minister of Finance, Mario Centeno, has agreed to remove Jersey from the Portuguese black list.

The States say the decision follows representations made by the Minister for External Relations, Senator Sir Philip Bailhache, and his team, both to the Portuguese Embassy in London and to the Minister of Finance in Lisbon.

A government announcement attributed the decision to "Jersey’s strong track record of transparency and cooperation" including:

• Jersey’s Tax Information Exchange Agreement with Portugal which entered into force in 2011 and the cooperation in applying the Agreement since that date;

• Jersey’s membership of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes and its rating by the Global Forum as “largely compliant” with the international standards;

• Jersey’s signing of the OECD Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for the Common Reporting Standard on the automatic exchange of Information; 

Senator Sir Philip Bailhache said: “I am very pleased that we have reached agreement with the Portuguese authorities on Jersey’s removal from the blacklist. This is the right outcome given Jersey’s commitment to tax exchange and mutual assistance, and follows sustained discussions between the Ministry of External Relations and our counterparts in the Portuguese government. It will encourage business links between Jersey and Portugal.

"We do of course already enjoy good relations with Portugal, as reflected in the friendship agreement with Madeira, and I am confident Jersey’s withdrawal from the blacklist will help to build an even stronger relationship between our two countries.”