France’s tax haven list: Updates expected

The French government has its own blacklist of tax havens. From a French perspective, transactions with non-cooperative states and territories are heavily taxed or treated differently. As of May 2023, there are 14 countries on this list and at least two more will be added in 2024. Some countries may also disappear from the list. The Ecovis experts in France know the details.

From 1 May 2023, the French list has comprised 14 jurisdictions: American Samoa, Anguilla, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, Fiji, Guam, Palaos, Panama, Samoa, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the US Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu.

The French tax haven list is updated at least once a year by means of a decree, which is generally published during the first quarter of the year. When updating its blacklist, France shall take into account the countries added by the European Council to the EU blacklist (Article 238-0 A of the French Tax Code).

We explain the implications of working with blacklisted countries.

Vanessa Raindre, Tax partner, ECOVIS MD Legal, Paris, France

Who will be on the blacklist in 2024 and who will be allowed off?

On 17 October 2023, the European Council updated the EU blacklist, adding 3 countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, and Seychelles. With the exception of Seychelles, these countries are not yet listed on the French blacklist and will be added in the next update. All French defensive tax measures will then apply to these countries from the 1st day of the third month following the publication of the French decree.

The European Council has also decided to remove the following three countries from the EU blacklist: the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica and the Marshall Islands. The last two are not listed on the current French blacklist. It is not yet known whether the British Virgin Islands, which was recently added to the French blacklist, will be removed or not.

For further information please contact:

Vanessa Raindre, Tax partner, ECOVIS MD Legal, Paris, France
Email: vanessa.raindre@mdlegal.fr