HM Government of Gibraltar has welcomed the publication by Spain's Ministry of Finance of a draft Ministerial Order that would formally remove Gibraltar from Spain's list of non-cooperative jurisdictions, bringing to an end a designation that has stood since 1991.

The draft Order has been submitted to a seven-working-day public consultation, which opened on 22 May 2026 and closes on 1 June 2026. It proposes to remove Gibraltar from the list established by Orden HFP/115/2023 on the basis that Gibraltar now meets Spain's criteria for fiscal transparency and tax fairness under Spanish law. The Order will enter into force the day after its publication in Spain's Official State Gazette, the Boletín Oficial del Estado.

Gibraltar has appeared on Spain's tax blacklist since the very first iteration of that list, when Royal Decree 1080/1991 of July 1991 classified Gibraltar as a tax haven. That designation persisted through successive reforms over 35 years, notwithstanding Gibraltar's well-established record as a transparent and internationally cooperative jurisdiction. Gibraltar has been white-listed by the OECD since 2009 and has never appeared on the European Union's own list of non-cooperative jurisdictions.

When the International Tax Agreement between Spain and the United Kingdom, covering Gibraltar, entered into force in March 2021, Spain committed explicitly to remove Gibraltar from its blacklist within two years. That commitment was not met on schedule. The Chief Minister made clear publicly that Gibraltar would consider withdrawal from the tax treaty if Spain did not honour its undertaking. The publication of today's draft Order fulfils that commitment.

The Chief Minister, the Hon. Fabian Picardo KC MP, said:

“This is a long-overdue and very welcome step by Spain. 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.

The commitment made in 2021 when we signed the International Tax Agreement was clear: delist Gibraltar. 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. 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.”