The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) of the European Union (EU) has released the results of its recently concluded meeting held in Brussels on November 8, 2019. The ECOFIN Council is made up of the economic and finance ministers from all member states and is responsible for economic policy, taxation issues and the regulation of financial services.
The Government of Belize has been informed that the recent amendments to the International Business Companies Act and the promulgation of the Economic Substance Act on October 11th have been positively assessed and the ECOFIN Council has agreed to remove Belize from the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions (the ‘blacklist’). The Ministry of Finance has been working closely with the European Union to meet its requirements regarding economic substance.
Moving forward, the Government of Belize will continue to engage with EU officials and the international business and financial services sector to ensure additional technical issues are addressed as soon as possible and to reaffirm the jurisdiction’s dedication to providing services that benefit both Belize and the global economy.
On receiving the news of the ECOFIN action, the Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow welcomed the positive step taken by the EU. He said it demonstrated the international community’s recognition of Belize’s commitment to helping to establish a modern international tax framework under which profits are taxed, and where economic activity and value creation occur.
