They are now considered to have “substantially implemented the standard on transparency and exchange of information” as set out by the OECD.
The addition of the three Caribbean states brings to 28 the number of jurisdictions that achieved white list status since April 2009.
Jeffrey Owens, director of the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, said: “We continue to see a great deal of progress in the Caribbean as jurisdictions move to sign agreements. With Dominica, Grenada and Saint Lucia now reaching this benchmark, most of the Caribbean jurisdictions have implemented their commitment to signing exchange of information agreements.
“We will be working with the remaining Caribbean jurisdictions – Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Montserrat and Panama – to encourage them to follow this trend, providing them with whatever assistance is needed.”
He added that a peer review process that white list jurisdictions had agreed to participate in as members of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes would be the “real test” of the extent to which such countries were committed to financial openness.
