Following the signing of a decree on 30 December by Portugal’s Minister of Finance, Jersey has been removed from the country’s blacklist.
According to the Government of Jersey, the decision was based on several factors:
• Jersey’s Tax Information Exchange Agreement with Portugal, which came into force in 2011, and the cooperation in applying it
• 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.
It follows representations made by the Minister for External Relations, Senator Sir Philip Bailhache and his team to the Portuguese Embassy in London and to the Minister of Finance in Lisbon.
Senator Sir Philip Bailhache said: “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.”