- On 18 February the EU Council reviewed its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions and kept the eleven already on it.
- Costa Rica and Curaçao leave the monitoring annex; Brunei enters with a commitment to reform its exemption regime.
- Anyone with companies, accounts or investments outside Spain should check where they are and what tax consequences follow.
On 18 February 2025, the finance ministers of the European Union approved the review of the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. Annex I, the so-called blacklist, remained unchanged, with eleven territories: American Samoa, Anguilla, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Russia, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands and Vanuatu.
The news does not redraw the map overnight, but it is the reference that advisers, banks and tax authorities look at when a family or a company has links with non-EU countries. It is worth understanding what appearing on the list means, what has changed in the monitoring annex and what a taxpayer can do to check their own situation without taking anything for granted.
What the list is and how it is reviewed
The European Union screens countries outside the bloc against three criteria: tax transparency, fair taxation and compliance with international standards against base erosion. Those that fail and do not commit to correcting themselves go into Annex I. Those that have committed to reforming their systems stay in Annex II, a status document used to track their progress. The criteria are applied with specific timetables and commitments for each country, which explains why Annex II includes territories in very different situations.
The process is continuous and the list is reviewed twice a year, normally in February and October. The Council itself imposes no direct sanctions: it sends a signal and triggers defensive measures adopted by each Member State, such as limiting deductions, applying withholding taxes or tightening rules against profit shifting. That is why the list affects specific transactions.
The changes in this review
In Annex II, Costa Rica and Curaçao leave, having met the commitments they made on their system of automatic exchange of tax information. Brunei Darussalam enters, having committed to amend or abolish its exemption for foreign-source income. After these moves Annex II holds eight jurisdictions, including Vietnam, which could leave at the next review if it activates country-by-country report exchange with all Member States.
These changes show how the system works: countries are pressed to adapt their legislation and, when they do, they leave the list. A jurisdiction leaving Annex II does not mean it has stopped being a place to watch. The lists change with each review, and a transaction that raises no issue today may raise one if the territory returns to them.
What to review
Anyone with companies, accounts or investments outside Spain should go over which jurisdiction they are in, for what purpose and with what documentation. Spain keeps its own list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, set by ministerial order and with its own criteria, which may include territories not on the European one. Both should be consulted, because the tax consequences depend on the list each rule applies.
It is also worth remembering that moving residence to a non-cooperative jurisdiction does not automatically release a person from taxation in Spain: the law provides that Spanish nationals who do so remain treated as tax residents in the year of the move and the four following years. Each situation depends on the facts, so the prudent course is to consult your adviser before taking decisions. If you use structures with third countries, keep the documentation that shows their economic purpose.
In international taxation, knowing where each asset sits is the first step to knowing how it is taxed.
This article is general information. It is not legal, tax or investment advice, and it does not take anyone’s particular circumstances into account.
