Netherlands blacklist of low-taxed jurisdictions updated

On 29 December 2023, the Dutch Ministry of Finance announced its blacklist of low-taxed jurisdictions applicable for the year 2024. It was decided to add Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Russia and the Seychelles. At the same time, the United Arab Emirates was removed from the list.

Tax implications in the Netherlands
The Netherlands has a blacklist for jurisdictions without a statutory profit tax and jurisdictions with a statutory profit tax rate of less than 9%. The Dutch blacklist also includes the jurisdictions placed on the EU blacklist of non-cooperative jurisdictions (EU Blacklist). The main effects of being on the (combined) Dutch blacklist are:

1. application of controlled foreign company rules for fiscal years starting on or after 1 January 2024;
2. non-eligibility for obtaining an advance tax ruling if a blacklisted jurisdiction is involved in a transaction or corporate structure; and
3. application of a withholding tax at a rate of 25.8% (2024) on dividend, interest and royalty payments (in)directly made to affiliated companies in blacklisted jurisdictions.

For 2024, the Dutch blacklist includes Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahama’s, Bahrain, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Fiji, Guernsey, Guam, Isle of Man, Jersey, Palau, Panama, Russia, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Turks and Caicos Islands, the Seychelles, the US Virgin Islands, US Samoa and Vanuatu.

Inclusion of a jurisdiction on the Dutch blacklist applies for the entire calendar year 2024 with an annual revisit of the list effective the following calendar year.

EU Blacklist
The EU Blacklist is updated two times a year by the Ecofin, being the EU Finance Ministers. Presence of a jurisdiction on the EU Blacklist can result in mandatory disclosure under DAC6 (because of the reference in hallmark C to the EU Blacklist) and/or the Public CbCR Directive (because of the reference to the EU Blacklist and the so-called EU grey list). For more information on the previous update of the EU Blacklist, reference is made to our Tax Alert of 26 October 2023.