|
The three islands were added to the list in
March because the EU found shortfalls in their tax rules that
could favor tax evasion in other states.
The decision, which is due to be formalized by EU finance
ministers in a meeting on Friday, will remove from the list the
only EU territories that are currently on it.
EU countries are not even screened as they are deemed compliant,
although the EU Parliament has accused seven of them of acting
as tax havens. They are Luxembourg, Cyprus, Ireland, Malta,
Hungary, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Listing decisions are made by the 28 EU governments. Each one of
them has the power to veto any decision on the matter.
Jurisdictions are removed from the blacklist when they address
their main shortfalls and commit to further reforms to increase
tax transparency.
With this week's removal of the three islands, the blacklist
will shrink to twelve jurisdictions. It will still include the
United Arab Emirates, Oman and the three U.S. territories of
American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Other jurisdictions on the list are Belize, Fiji, the Marshall
Islands, Vanuatu, Dominica, Samoa and Trinidad and Tobago.
Blacklisted states face reputational damage and stricter
controls on transactions with the EU.
The EU set up the blacklist in December 2017 after revelations
of widespread tax avoidance schemes used by corporations and
wealthy individuals to lower their tax bills.
The list initially comprised 17 jurisdictions, but it is subject
to regular reviews. Countries with legal shortfalls are added if
they do not amend their rules by set deadlines.
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Toby Chopra)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
