Eduardo González
The Ministry of Finance has initiated the process to remove Gibraltar from Spain’s list of tax havens, where it has been listed since 1991. Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, welcomed this “long-overdue and very welcome step by Spain,” which represents “good news” for “the many businesses and individuals on both sides of the border whose working lives were affected by this outdated designation.”
Gibraltar has been on Spain’s list of tax havens since Royal Decree 1080/1991 of July 1991, which designated the Rock as such. This designation has remained in place for 35 years despite Gibraltar’s inclusion on the OECD’s “white list” in 2009 and the European Commission’s decision in March 2024 to remove it from its own blacklist against money laundering, where it had been since December 2020.
The Spanish Ministry of Finance has published a draft Ministerial Order that would formally remove Gibraltar from Spain’s list of “non-cooperative jurisdictions” for tax purposes. The text also includes Barbados, Dominica, Samoa, Seychelles, and Trinidad and Tobago on the list, while maintaining Russia’s designation as a tax haven. The draft Order has been submitted to a seven-day public consultation period, which opened on May 22, 2026, and closes on June 1, 2026. The text will enter into force the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE).
In a statement, the Government of Gibraltar welcomed this decision by the Ministry of Finance. “This is a long-overdue and very welcome step by Spain,” declared Fabian Picardo. “For 35 years, Gibraltar has carried the label of a tax haven. That label was wrong. It was wrong when it was first applied in 1991, and it became harder to justify with every passing year as we built one of the most transparent, well-regulated financial centres in the world. Spain has now started the process of correcting the record” he added.
According to Picardo, Spain had committed to removing Gibraltar from the list two years after the entry into force of the Tax Treaty on the Rock, ratified by Madrid and London in March 2021 (the first treaty on the Rock since the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713), but ultimately failed to do so “within the agreed timeframe.”
“The commitment made in 2021 when we signed the International Tax Agreement was clear: delist Gibraltar,” Picardo asserted. “It took longer than it should have, and that delay had real consequences for our economy and our reputation. But what matters now is that Spain is acting on its word,” he emphasized. “This is good news for Gibraltar, for our financial services sector, and for the many businesses and individuals on both sides of the border whose working lives were affected by this outdated designation,” he added.
The Treasury’s decision comes just two months before the agreement establishing the legal framework for relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom is set to take effect. This agreement includes, among other measures, the removal of the border fence and the elimination of passport controls between the two territories. Spain will assume control of Schengen Area regulations at Gibraltar’s airport and port, as well as the final decision on residency permits.
According to the government, the agreement will allow for a phased harmonization of taxes with European rates, including those on tobacco, which will be extended to excise taxes on fuel and alcoholic beverages. Gibraltar will also implement an indirect tax similar to Spain’s VAT, never lower than the European minimum of 15 percent. “In other words, indirect tax levels in Gibraltar will be aligned with European regulations from the moment the agreement comes into force, to guarantee a level playing field and avoid market distortions,” Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares told Congress.
