# EU Drops Panama and Vietnam From Its Tax Haven Blacklist

> The EU removed Panama and Vietnam from its tax-haven list on 9 Oct 2026. What it changes — and doesn't — for Portuguese tax residents.

- Source: https://www.growinportugal.com/news/eu-drops-panama-and-vietnam-from-its-tax-haven-blacklist-2026-10-09
- Publisher: GrowIN Portugal (https://www.growinportugal.com)
- Published: 2026-10-09
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-09
- Language: en

> **Key figures — as of 2026-10-09:** EU Council removed Panama and Vietnam from its Annex I tax-haven blacklist on 9 October 2026 — the list now holds just 8 jurisdictions, down from 10 — Panama had been listed since February 2020, Vietnam only since February 2026 — Portugal's own domestic blacklist (Portaria 150/2004), which runs to roughly 77 jurisdictions and includes Panama separately, is unaffected by the EU change.

## A six-year wait ends for Panama

On 9 October 2026, the Council removed Panama and Viet Nam from the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. The list, set out in Annex I, now comprises eight jurisdictions: American Samoa, Anguilla, Guam, Palau, Russia, the Turks and Caicos Islands, the US Virgin Islands and Vanuatu. For Panama, it's the end of a long stretch of reputational damage: Panama had been listed in Annex I since February 2020. According to the Council, it has now reformed its harmful foreign-source income exemption regime. The EU also noted the removal came in light of a review granted by the OECD Global Forum regarding Panama's compliance with international standards on exchange of tax information on request.

Vietnam's time on the list was much shorter. Vietnam, one of the fastest-growing economies in southeast Asia, was added to the blacklist in February this year. Its removal came after Hanoi committed to the same kind of transparency audit Panama had requested.

The relief for Panama isn't unconditional. The trade-off is Panama's new Law 526, which taxes passive foreign income of multinational group entities without local substance at 15% from fiscal year 2027. So the country bought its way off the EU list partly by tightening its own rules on shell structures.

## Why this matters for Portugal

The EU list, maintained by the Council, triggers EU-level defensive measures — withholding tax add-ons, stricter reporting, and reduced access to certain tax treaty benefits — for payments flowing to or from listed jurisdictions. Dropping off Annex I removes that layer automatically across all 27 member states, Portugal included.

But here's the part that usually gets missed in the headline coverage: Portugal runs its own, separate blacklist. This classification, set out in Portaria n.º 150/2004, is used by the Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira to apply specific anti-abuse rules covering transfer pricing, controlled foreign company (CFC) legislation, and other compliance areas. Portugal currently considers around 77 jurisdictions to carry a clearly more favourable tax regime, while the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions — before this update — identified only ten. Panama sits on that Portuguese national list in its own right, independent of whatever the Council in Brussels decides. In practice the Portuguese list has tended to stay static and includes jurisdictions with which Portugal has signed double-taxation treaties and tax-information exchange agreements, among them Panama.

Vietnam, by contrast, has never appeared on Portugal's domestic list — it was only ever an EU-level concern, added in February 2026. So the practical effect splits cleanly: Vietnam-linked income or assets should genuinely see less EU-driven scrutiny going forward, while Panama-linked structures remain exposed to Portugal's own aggravated regime regardless of what Brussels just announced.

## GrowIN's analysis: what the gap is actually worth

This is the detail worth sitting with. Portugal's penalties for blacklisted jurisdictions include withholding tax rates of 35% on capital income, aggravated IMI and IMT property tax rates, and limits on the deductibility of payments made to entities based there. Compare that to the standard 28% flat rate most non-resident capital income attracts outside the blacklist regime. On a €50,000 dividend or interest payment originating from a Panama-based structure, that 7-point gap alone works out to roughly €3,500 in extra Portuguese withholding — money that won't disappear just because Brussels updated Annex I. "The EU delisting changes the picture in Brussels; it doesn't automatically rewrite the Portuguese tax code," notes GrowIN Portugal Editorial.

## What actually changes, and what to watch

For anyone holding Vietnamese-sourced income, bank accounts, or company shares and filing Portuguese IRS, this is unambiguous good news — the EU-level flags that applied since February 2026 should lift once the Official Journal publishes the revised list. For Panama, treat it as partial progress at best: EU defensive measures ease, but Finanças' own aggravated rates persist until — and unless — a future Portaria removes Panama from the national list, something that has historically moved far slower than the EU's twice-yearly review.

Portuguese tax residents with Panama or Vietnam ties should still confirm their specific situation via the Portal das Finanças before assuming any change to withholding or reporting obligations, and keep in mind that disclosure of tax-haven-linked assets on the annual IRS return remains mandatory regardless of this update. For the fuller picture on how Portugal treats foreign income and assets, see our [tax & NIF](/tax-and-nif/) hub.

Anyone with meaningful exposure to either jurisdiction — a Panama holding company, a Vietnamese investment account, rental income routed through either — should get a professional read on where they now stand rather than assume the EU's green light settles the matter at home.

## Sources

- [Council of the European Union (Consilium)](https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/policies/eu-list-of-non-cooperative-jurisdictions/)
- [EU Law Live](https://eulawlive.com/council-removes-panama-and-viet-nam-from-eu-list-of-non-cooperative-jurisdictions-for-tax-purposes/)
- [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-28/vietnam-and-panama-to-be-removed-from-eu-s-tax-haven-blacklist)
- [AFM Tax — Lista de Países com Regimes de Tributação Privilegiada](https://afm.tax/lista-de-paises-com-regimes-de-tributacao-privilegiada/?lang=pt-pt)

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© GrowIN Portugal. Cite as: GrowIN Portugal, "EU Drops Panama and Vietnam From Its Tax Haven Blacklist", https://www.growinportugal.com/news/eu-drops-panama-and-vietnam-from-its-tax-haven-blacklist-2026-10-09