Gibraltar Clears EC Probe Of Tax Regime

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

12 November 2013

The European Commission (EC) has received no "well-founded" allegations against Gibraltar regarding failure to cooperate on tax, financial and money-laundering matters, according to Commissioner for Internal Market and Services Michel Barnier.

The commissioner made the comment in a response to written questions from Gibraltar MEP Graham Watson. He pointed out that Gibraltar's legislation in the relevant areas is up to date.

The EC verdict is a blow to Spain, which made accusations that Gibraltar is a tax haven and a center for money-laundering. This led to the EC launching an investigation into Gibraltar's tax regime to determine whether a corporate tax exemption for passive income contravened European Union state aid rules by favoring certain companies, particularly "offshore" companies.

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