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Spain is preparing to officially remove Gibraltar from its list of tax havens for the first time in 35 years in what’s being seen as another major step towards improving relations between Madrid, the UK and the Rock.

 

The Spanish Treasury has published plans to take Gibraltar off its blacklist of what it calls “non-cooperative jurisdictions” for tax purposes, saying Gibraltar now meets the standards required under Spanish tax rules.

 

In simple terms, Spain no longer considers Gibraltar to be a place where people or companies can easily avoid taxes without proper financial transparency.

 

The move is tied to wider agreements recently reached between Spain and the UK aimed at improving cooperation over Gibraltar following Brexit.

 

For most ordinary people, this won’t create any immediate dramatic changes day to day, but it could help smooth financial, business and administrative relations between Spain and Gibraltar in the future.

 

It’s also another sign that both sides are trying to normalise relations around the border, with ongoing discussions still focused on making movement between Gibraltar and Spain easier.

 

Gibraltar had been on Spain’s tax haven list since 1991 and remained there for decades due to long-running disagreements over taxation, financial controls and transparency.

 

As part of the same changes, Spain is also removing Barbados, Dominica, Samoa, Seychelles and Trinidad and Tobago from its blacklist.

 

Russia, however, is being added to the list due to concerns linked to money laundering and what Spain describes as harmful tax practices.

 

The Gibraltar government welcomed the decision, saying it had been unfairly labelled as a tax haven for many years and describing Spain’s move as “a long-awaited and very welcome step.”

 

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