Under Ministerial Order n. 150/2004 of 13 February, issued by the Portuguese Ministry of Finance and consequently updated, Portugal defines an official blacklist of countries and jurisdictions considered for legal and tax purposes as tax havens.
| Ministral Order n. 150/2004 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Ministry of Finance | |
Long title
| |
| Territorial extent | Portugal |
| Enacted by | Portugal's Ministry of Finance |
| Signed by | Vasco Jorge Valdez Ferreira Matias |
| Commenced | February 13, 2004 |
| Administered by | Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority |
| Amends | |
| Ministerial Order n.150/2004 Ministerial Order n. 292/2011 Ministerial Order n. 345-A/2016 Ministerial Order n. 309-A/2020 | |
| Related legislation | |
| Personal Income Tax Code Corporate Income Tax Code Municipal Property Tax Code Municipal Property Transfer Tax Code Stamp Duty Tax Code Tax Benefits Statutes | |
| Summary | |
| Approves the official list for legal and tax purposes of jurisdictions deemed as tax havens. | |
| Keywords | |
| Tax Havens, Offshore Financial Centre | |
| Status: In force | |
Blacklisted Jurisdictions
Current Blacklisted Jurisdictions
| Blacklisted Jurisdiction | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
 Anguilla
|
British Overseas Territory | - |
 Antigua and Barbuda
|
Country | - |
 Netherlands Antilles
|
Constituent Country | The Netherlands Antilles were dissolved in 2010. |
 Aruba
|
Constituent Country | - |
 Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
|
British Overseas Territory | - |
 Bahamas
|
Country | |
 Bahrain
|
Country | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the country. |
 Barbados
|
Country | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the country. |
 Belize
|
Country | - |
 Bolivia
|
Country | - |
 Brunei
|
Country | - |
 Costa Rica
|
Country | - |
 Fiji
|
Country | - |
 Maldives
|
Country | - |
 Northern Mariana Islands
|
Commonwealth | - |
 Marshall Islands
|
Country | - |
 Mauritius
|
Country | - |
 Monaco
|
Country | - |
 Christmas Island
|
Australian external territory | - |
 Palau
|
Country | - |
 Solomon Islands
|
Country | - |
 Svalbard and Jan Mayen
|
Unincorporated internal area of Norway | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the country but the agreement does not include these territories. |
 Turks and Caicos Islands
|
British Overseas Territory | - |
 British Virgin Islands
|
British Overseas Territory | - |
 United States Virgin Islands
|
Unincorporated and organized U.S. territory | - |
 Jamaica
|
Country | - |
 Jordan
|
Country | - |
 Kuwait
|
Country | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the country. |
 Djibouti
|
Country | - |
 Dominica
|
Country | - |
 United Arab Emirates
|
Country | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the country. |
 Gambia
|
Country | - |
 Gibraltar
|
British Overseas Territory | Portugal has signed an agreement of exchange of tax information with the territory. |
 Grenada
|
Country | - |
 Guyana
|
Country | - |
 Honduras
|
Country | - |
 Hong Kong, China
|
Special Administrative Region | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the territory. |
 Guam
|
Unincorporated and organized U.S. territory | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the country. |
 Kiribati
|
Country | - |
 Isle of Man
|
Crown dependency | Portugal has signed an agreement of exchange of tax information with the territory. The Isle of Man was briefly whitelisted between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018. |
 Niue
|
Country | - |
 Pitcairn Islands
|
British Overseas Territory | - |
 Iran (Qeshm Island)
|
County | Only the county of Qeshm, more specifically the island of Qeshm has been blacklisted by the Portuguese government. |
 Saint Pierre and Miquelon
|
Overseas collectivity of France | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the country but the agreement does not include this territory. |
 Tokelau
|
Dependent territory of New Zealand | - |
 Norfolk Island
|
Australian external territory | - |
 Labuan
|
Malaysian Federal Territory | - |
 Lebanon
|
Country | - |
 Liberia
|
Country | - |
 Liechtenstein
|
Country | - |
| Mauritius
|
Country | - |
| Monaco
|
Country | - |
 Montserrat
|
British Overseas Territory | - |
 Nauru
|
Country | - |
 Panama
|
Country | - |
 French Polynesia
|
Overseas country and collectivity of France | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the country but the agreement does not include this territory. |
 Puerto Rico
|
U.S. Commonwealth and Unincorporated and organized U.S. territory | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the country. |
 Qatar
|
Country | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the country. |
 Yemen
|
Country | - |
 Vanuatu
|
Country | - |
 American Samoa
|
Unincorporated and unorganized U.S. territory | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the country. |
 Samoa
|
Country | - |
 Saint Lucia
|
Country | - |
 Saint Kitts and Nevis
|
Country | - |
 San Marino
|
Country | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the country. |
 Tuvalu
|
Country | - |
 Bermuda
|
British Overseas Territory | Portugal has signed an agreement of exchange of tax information with the territory. |
 Cayman Islands
|
British Overseas Territory | Portugal has signed an agreement of exchange of tax information with the territory. |
 Cocos (Keeling) Islands
|
Australian external territory | - |
 Cook Islands
|
Country | - |
 Guernsey
|
Bailiwick | Portugal has signed an agreement of exchange of tax information with the territory. |
 Jersey
|
Bailiwick | Portugal has signed an agreement of exchange of tax information with the territory. |
| Other Pacific Islands | Non-specified | The Portuguese Government considered "other Pacific Islands" all the islands in the Pacific Ocean not mentioned in the list. |
 Falkland Islands
|
British Overseas Territory | - |
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
|
Country | - |
 Seychelles
|
Country | - |
 Eswatini
|
Country | - |
 Oman
|
Country | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the country. |
 Tonga
|
Country | - |
 Trinidad and Tobago
|
Country | - |
 Uruguay
|
Country | Portugal has signed an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation with the country. Uruguay was briefly whitelisted between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2018. |
Former Blacklisted Jurisdictions
| Jurisdiction | Type | Date of Whitelisting | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Andorra
|
Country | January 1, 2021 | Portugal has signed an agreement of exchange of tax information and an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation, in force since April 23, 2017, with Andorra.
The Government of the Principality of Andorra sent a formal request under Article 63d(3) of the Portuguese General Taxation Law to review the country's place on the Portuguese blacklist, which was then subject of a positive opinion issued by the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority, and the conditions for excluding the Principality of Andorra from the blacklisted were approved by the Ministry of Finance. |
 Cyprus
|
EU Member State | November 9, 2011 | Portugal has signed an agreement of exchange of tax information and an Agreement to Avoid Double Taxation, in force since August 16, 2013, with Cyprus. Under EU Law Portugal could not discriminate fellow Member-States nor prevent the free movement of capital. |
 Luxembourg
|
Sanctions
National sanctions
The Portuguese Tax Code foresees aggravated withholding tax, 35% tax rate, on capital income (interests and dividends) deriving from black listed jurisdictions and an aggravated municipal property tax of 7% on property owned by entities located in said jurisdiction. Portugal's "blacklist" is defined by decree issued by the Minister of Finance and taking into account confidential reports issued by the Portuguese Tax and Customs Authority.
In addition, non-habitual residents (NHRs) status holders do not benefit from personal income tax exemption on interests, dividends, capital gains, income from immovable property (rents), royalties, intellectual property income and business income) if: these are sourced from black-listed jurisdictions. Therefore, taxation of such income will be subject to the normal rates or to the 35% rate depending on the type of income earned by the NHR status holder.
European Union Sanctions
On December 16, 2019, the EU Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxation) (CCG), under the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, published a new guidance on sanctions to be applied by EU Member States against blacklisted 'non-cooperative' jurisdictions by the end of 2020. These sanctions were immediately backed by the Finish Presidency of the Council of the European Union who labelled them as "defensive-measures" that are recommended to EU Member States to take against blacklisted jurisdictions. Implementation of such sanctions by Portugal are expected to occur on January 1, 2021.
Criticism
The list has been said to have violated EU Law by discriminating against a former EU-Member State's territory such as Gibraltar, therefore violating the principle of free movement of capital. Furthermore, the list does not take into account whether Portugal has in place a double taxation agreement with the blacklisted territory.
Critics also point out that the list is not clear given the fact that it makes no provisions regarding the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles nor if countries such as Japan, Australia or New Zealand fall under the category of "other Pacific Islands." In addition, the Portuguese list does not mirror the list adopted by the European Union regarding tax aggressive and non-cooperative jurisdictions.
References
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