Prime Min­is­ter Kam­la Per­sad-Bisses­sar says Trinidad and To­ba­go’s re­moval from the Eu­ro­pean Union list of non-co­op­er­a­tive ju­ris­dic­tions for tax pur­pos­es marks a ma­jor step for­ward for the coun­try and sig­nals re­newed con­fi­dence in its fi­nan­cial sys­tem.

Trinidad and To­ba­go was re­cent­ly re­moved from the EU black­list, a des­ig­na­tion ap­plied to coun­tries that fail to meet in­ter­na­tion­al stan­dards for tax trans­paren­cy.

“This is a ma­jor step for­ward.”

The Prime Min­is­ter said the pre­vi­ous PNM ad­min­is­tra­tion failed to take the nec­es­sary ac­tions to se­cure com­pli­ance and re­moval, and that since as­sum­ing of­fice her UNC Gov­ern­ment moved swift­ly and de­ci­sive­ly to cor­rect the is­sue.

“Through leg­isla­tive re­form, sus­tained in­ter­na­tion­al en­gage­ment, and stronger in­sti­tu­tions, we re­stored cred­i­bil­i­ty and re­built trust.”

She said black­list­ing con­strained in­vest­ment, lim­it­ed op­por­tu­ni­ty, and weak­ened con­fi­dence in the coun­try’s fi­nan­cial sys­tem. In less than a year, she said, the Gov­ern­ment strength­ened the coun­try’s laws, en­hanced trans­paren­cy, and put Trinidad and To­ba­go back on the right track.

“Re­moval from the list sig­nals clear­ly to the world: we have met our com­mit­ments and re­claimed our stand­ing on the glob­al stage. We in­her­it­ed an econ­o­my un­der re­al strain, with fis­cal pres­sures high and con­fi­dence low. But we promised ac­tion – and we are de­liv­er­ing.

In­vestor in­ter­est is ris­ing. Con­fi­dence is re­turn­ing. Mo­men­tum is build­ing.

Trinidad and To­ba­go is open for busi­ness, com­pli­ant, and ready for sus­tain­able growth.”