Tax

On 17 February 2026, the EU Council published an update to its so-called “Blacklist” of jurisdictions that are not cooperative for tax purposes and “Grey List” of cooperative jurisdictions that have not yet fully met their commitments to comply with tax good governance standards. The Blacklist and Grey List were last revised on 10 October 2025.

In summary:

• Turks and Caicos Islands and Vietnam have been added to the Blacklist;
• Fiji, Samoa and Trinidad and Tobago have been removed from the Blacklist; and
• Antigua and Barbuda and Seychelles have been removed from the Grey List.

Changes to the EU Blacklist

The Blacklist now comprises American Samoa, Anguilla, Guam, Palau, Panama, Russia, Turks and Caicos Islands, the US Virgin Islands, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

The Turks and Caicos Islands were added to the Blacklist based on concerns raised regarding the enforcement of economic substance requirements in the jurisdiction.

Vietnam was added to the Blacklist because it did not meet the necessary standards for the exchange of tax information on request.

Fiji, Samoa and Trinidad and Tobago were removed from the Blacklist as they now comply with all agreed relevant international standards.

Changes to the EU Grey List

The Grey List now comprises Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Eswatini, Greenland, Jordan, Montenegro, Morocco and Turkey.

Antigua and Barbuda and Seychelles were removed from the Grey List after receiving a positive rating from the OECD Global Forum regarding their systems for exchanging tax information on request.

Brunei, while remaining on the Grey List, has been granted a six-month extension to reform its foreign-source income exemption regime. The additional time will allow Brunei to implement the necessary changes to be delisted.

The impact of this latest update is somewhat more extensive than that of previous updates as several jurisdictions have been added to, and removed from, the Blacklist and two jurisdictions have been removed from the Grey List.

The updated Blacklist and Grey List can also be found here.

Key action for private fund sponsors

As we have noted in connection with previous updates to the EU lists, contractual undertakings relating to the Blacklist and Grey List may have been included in side letters and private fund sponsors should monitor such provisions accordingly, as well as take into account the Blacklist and Grey List more generally when making and structuring investments.

The next update to the Blacklist and Grey List is expected in October 2026.