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The Financial Services Authority (FSA) in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) has described as “arbitrary and not supported by any objective or transparent process” the decision by the European Union to place the country on its first list of international tax havens, released last week.

“St. Vincent and the Grenadines intends to object to this blacklisting on an individual basis and from a unified Caribbean front,” the FSA said in a press statement on Monday.

SVG is among 30 territories that the European Union placed on the blacklist. It said the blacklisting comes amidst a crackdown on multinational companies trying to avoid paying tax in the 28-nation bloc.

The other Caribbean nations on the list are: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, Turks and Caicos, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The European Commission is proposing reforms to end sweetheart tax deals following a series of investigations into arrangements between EU countries and firms including Amazon, Apple and Starbucks.

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But the FSA said the blacklisting is considered “unjust, amounting to an abuse of process/power”.

It pointed out that SVG has amended its laws and implemented a tax information exchange system to conform to international standards and built a successful tax information exchange regime.

“Of absolute significance is that St. Vincent and the Grenadines has already been assessed as NOT being a tax haven by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), the responsible international body for international tax compliance purposes,” the FSA said.

The FSA said the OECD Global Forum has “in effect disassociated itself with the action of the EU and underscored the fact that it is their own assessment which is the relevant assessment for the purposes of determining a country’s cooperation in tax matters”.

The OECD and the Global Forum said it would like “to confirm that the only agreeable assessment of countries as regards their cooperation is made by the Global Forum and that a number of countries identified in the EU exercise are either fully or largely compliant and have committed to AEOI, sometimes even as early adopters.

“Without prejudice to countries’ sovereign positions, we are happy to confirm that these jurisdictions are cooperative and we would like to commend the tremendous progress made over the past years as well as the cooperation and integrity of the Global Forum process.

“We have already expressed our concerns and stand ready to further clarify to the media the position of the affected jurisdictions with regard to their compliance with the Global Forum standards,” OECD and the Global Forum said.

The FSA said SVG is also very much “white listed” by the OECD, having successfully completed its mandatory two-phased assessments.

“St. Vincent and the Grenadines is rated ‘Largely Compliant’ by the OECD Global Forum in relation to its tax compliance regime, which is globally accepted as a very positive rating,” the FSA said.

It said there appears to be “no rationale or at best, no reasonable rationale” for this blacklisting of SVG “save for the fact that this country operates an (international financial services) industry, albeit very small.

“The EU process of blacklisting seems to be that countries were blacklisted which were found by at least 10 of their EU members to be “non- cooperative in relation to tax matters,” the FSA said.

It added that 11 EU countries — Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain — have named SVG as being non cooperative although SVG “has never had a request for tax information or any other information from any of those countries, nor refused any international request for tax information whatsoever made to this country…

“No information or evidence has been provided to St. Vincent and the Grenadines upon which a conclusion can be drawn that this country has been or is non- compliant, non–receptive or non–cooperative with any international tax initiative or any specific request for information or case for tax avoidance by any of the named countries, or from the EU for that matter. No information has been provided that persons from the named countries are hiding assets in this country,” the FSA said.

10 replies on “SVG says EU ‘tax haven’ blacklisting lacks ‘objective or transparent process’”

    1. Luther Bonadie says:

      C- ben,

      You are like a bad penny that wont go away.
      ” if the shoe fits, you have to wear it”

      There is another saying that ” if the shoe fits, then put it where the sun don’t shine”

      You get my drift ?

      1. Bonadie, I have got a dunces hat that will fit you, it’s extra large, one that your master left at an Obeah meeting, well its actually a witches hat, but it will serve the purpose.

        As usual I worked on the anagrams for Bonadie: Adobein Boanedi Denabio Eobnaid Iedbano Aibenod

        Then I remembered that you are only a pretend Bonadie

  1. Kenton. the answer may be in the document I sent to you which to date you have not posted. It is full of evidence and a copy was sent to the FSA, who replied “Thank you for the information provided Mr. Binose. We would notify our client of your findings accordingly”.

    “Why is St Vincent on the European Union financial blacklist? Ask PM Gonsalves”

    This has already been posted on a number of other online media sites.

    Rgds

    Peter

  2. IT IS INCUMBENT ON ALL PERSONS DIVULGING INFORMATION IN THIS ONLINE

    NEWSPAPER ; TO POSTS LINKS & SOURCES REGARDING ARTICLES THAT THEY

    ARE PLACING IN THIS NEWSPAPER . IT IS SCURRILOUS AND EXCEEDING

    MISCHEVIOUS NOT TO DO THAT .

    MR. CHANCE IS TAKING A CHANCE BY NOT INSISTING THAT THIS IS DONE . THE

    ONUS IS ON HIM TO ENSURE THAT THIS IS DONE . UNLESS HE DOES THIS , HE IS

    DOING A DISSERVICE TO THE PEOPLE WHO READ THIS PAPER .

    Let me once again state that Peter Binose , and his Echo Chamber C ben David MUST
    adhere to this Rule . BTW , I find it very interesting that both of them can get their Articles moderated the same day , while others who write in this Newspaper take days before they
    they are put in this Newspaper . That is very unsatisfactory , unless of course , Peter Binose
    & his Echo Chamber C ben- David have large shares in this Newspaper .

    If in future I read an article written by either Binose & his Echo Chamber , and Links or Sources are not provided , I will deem them to be not only UNTRUE , but MANUFACTURED , & SLANTED TOWARDS A PARTICULAR POINT OF VIEW

    MR CHANCE THE BALL IS IN YOUR COURT , REGARDNG WHETHER YOUR

    NEWSPAPER IS CREDIBLE OR JUST ANOTHER RUN OF THE MILL OUTFIT .

    VERIDICAL

    1. Verdical you really get a little sillier every day. May I suggest if you don’t like they way things are run here, or the comments that are made. Don’t come here, and don’t make silly untrue statements, you are showing yourself to be a very silly Billy.

      We will not miss you one little bit, so goodbye.

  3. Luther Bonadie says:

    Peter,
    Anyone can sell you anything Peter, but no one buys anything from you.
    I love good criticism, but times shows me that you got things mixed in you head, perhaps it old age, jealousy, or vindictiveness, on you part.
    My advise to you is to use what you have or know, and be critical for the betterment of your home land, and not make everything so personal as if government or somebody owe you something.
    Remember no one is buying anything from you.

    1. How wrong you are Bonadie, the Gonsalves family dynasty owned Unity Labour Party have been unable to sell me anything.

      I do not buy their lies, I do not buy their policies, I do not buy the whole barrage of crap that they ask social idiots like yourself to post on these sites.

      Whatever you do or say, you yourself are unable to sell to me or the Vincentian public your formula to show us that wrong is really right. The truth will always prevail, but you and your masters know or care nothing for truth.

      I notice that you are extremely racist in what you write and in particular what you write about Mr Eustace. I have a strong feeling that you are another white supremacist, because no black man would throw the disgusting untrue insults that you heap on Eustace. When I consider him against your master, Eustace has never been charged with rape and he has never had a host of allegations against him for sexual assault.

      This government owe me personally a lot, I owe them nothing, in fact I owe them even less than that. This government is not Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, they are a disgusting set of people who have been staggering from one crisis to another now for a number of years. It really is time for them to go and for the forensic studies of the accounts to begin.

      So remember I am certainly not buying from you, and you have nothing at all that you could sell me.

      Further more I would sell nothing to this government, because I would never get paid. The 150 people who had their land taken from them at Argyle for the airport, still haven’t up until this very day been paid, and they are owed for the last 7 years.

      A government of knockers, with a crew of thieves.

      1. Luther Bonadie says:

        Peter,
        Now I know how you think, clearly , you are drunk with what I call small Island talk, and selfish desires.

        Is the glass half empty, or is it half full.

        The longer you last you’ll realize that there’s two sides to everything and also everyone.

        I say Hail to Gonsalves, and to hell with yourself and that LAZY Eustace.

        Eustace has nothing to offer Vincentian, other that rhetoric about balancing accounts, Eustace can’t even balance his mouth, how the hell he could manage Vincentian.

        In my opinion you are one of those ” gee me Vincentian ” who is looking forward for handouts, I hope you got some long hands, because you’re not going to get nothing.

        You talk about people have not got paid for property at Aggyle, what you are saying , those 150 homeowners told you that they didn’t get paid.? Or you are fishing.

        I know they did not , so shut up, and mind your own bisness.

        Eustace is a ungrateful man. ask Sir James, Eustace is LAZY ,look at his record.

        Vincentians noticed that a long time ago, that’s why it’s four in a row.

  4. Well my FSA friends, what is your answer to this?

    SVG and seaborn tax evasion.

    The use of flags of convenience on foreign owned ships lowers registration costs, maintenance costs, crew wages cost, and has extreme tax benefits, no rules, no inspections. Foreign owned ships flying a Vincentian flag and under Vincentian registration most likely will not pay tax in the owners country and will not pay tax in SVG. It’s probably part of the World’s greatest tax swindle,

    The main reason to use a flag of convenience is for tax avoidance, but some may more aptly describe it as Tax Evasion.

    2012: SVG had 412 ships registered, 325 foreign owned which is 79%, 65 of those ships had Chinese ownership.
    China 65, Greece 42, US 18, Latvia 15, Norway 13, Turkey 13, Ukraine 12, Russia 11, Sweden 10, Bulgaria 9, Denmark 9, Lithuania 9, Syria 9, Croatia 8, Estonia 8, Switzerland 7, Belgium 7, UK 6, Hong Kong 5, Singapore 5, Italy 4, Cyprus 3, Germany 3, Israel 3, Japan 3, Poland 3, UAE 3, Egypt 2, France 2, Guyana 2, Kenya 2, Lebanon 2, Monaco 2, Austria 1, Azerbaijan 1, Bangladesh 1, Bermuda 1, Czech Republic 1, Dominica 1, Netherlands 1, Romania 1, Slovenia 1, Venezuela 1
    Ref: CIA

    The following countries in our part of the World have flag of convenience programs.
    Panama 6,413
    Antigua and Barbuda 1,257
    Barbados
    Bahamas 1,160
    Belize 247
    Bermuda 139
    Cayman Islands 116
    Curacao 120
    Honduras
    Jamaica

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