The government of the offshore tax haven Jersey has received assurances from the French Finance Ministry that it will be removed from France’s list of uncooperative jurisdictions in due course, according to a statement from Jersey Finance, the promotional agency for the island’s financial sector.

The French government stepped up its fight against tax evasion by placing Jersey on an official blacklist of uncooperative tax havens at the beginning of September. However, Jersey officials met with senior officials from France’s Ministry of Finance last week, where they were told that Jersey’s significant efforts to ensure tax information requests are responded to swiftly and effectively, and are being recognised by French officials.

“Jersey’s government has given this issue the highest priority, and their most recent meeting with French officials was clearly a constructive one. The focus now is on ensuring that the French authorities are happy with the speed and efficacy of how Jersey responds to information requests, under Jersey and France’s existing Tax Information Exchange Agreement,” said chief executive of Jersey Finance, Geoff Cook.

“The issue initially was related to some outstanding requests for information that were being appealed through the Jersey courts. With those cases due to be heard shortly, Jersey can demonstrate to France’s satisfaction that it is exchanging information effectively, and it can be removed from France’s list, which is welcome news,” added Cook.

The statement also noted that Jersey currently exchanges information under the terms of 32 TIEAs, and that the island tax haven currently is working to meet international obligations by making amendments to regulations relating to information exchange.