Scotland Bars Companies in Tax Havens From Tapping Virus Relief

Scottish companies based in designated tax havens will be barred from receiving a loan under a new coronavirus relief package passed Wednesday.

The Scottish Parliament unanimously passed the Coronavirus (Scotland) (No.2) Bill, which includes an amendment that explicitly prohibits aid from being distributed to companies based in tax haven jurisdictions. The next step is for the bill to be signed into law.

• The amendment, proposed by Patrick Harvie, member of the Scottish parliament and co-leader of Scotland’s Green Party, states that aid is restricted if a company is “based in a tax haven, is the subsidiary of a person based in a tax haven, has a subsidiary based in a tax haven, or is party to an arrangement under which any of its profits are subject to the tax regime of a tax haven,” according to the text of the bill.
• The blacklisted jurisdictions refer to those listed as one of the European Union’s non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.
• The bill follows similar proposals in countries like France, Poland, and Denmark.

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