Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo said Trinidad and Tobago’s removal from the European Union’s (EU) blacklist for non-cooperative tax jurisdictions was a momentous day.
He told the Senate the previous government did not do enough to remove this country from the list, and this damaged Trinidad and Tobago’s international reputation.
“Our citizens must judge for themselves who may have benefitted from the deliberate sloppiness of the former government, which facilitated weak tax transparency, the absence of proper legislation, and a system that allowed money to be hidden, taxes to be avoided, and our revenue streams as a country to be compromised, while the country remained on the EU blacklist,” Mr Tancoo said.
Mr Tancoo said the removal of Trinidad and Tobago from the blacklist signals renewed confidence in this country’s governance framework.
“It strengthens our standing with international investors and training partners. It improves our ability to access capital and to engage with global markets without stigma or suspicion. It also enhances our reputation as a responsible and compliant member of the international financial community,” he said.
The Finance Minister said Trinidad and Tobago remained on the list for nine years, longer than most of the jurisdictions listed since 2017.
Mr Tancoo said the vast majority of the 17 countries listed secured removal by March 2019.
