The European Union has published on 23.01.2018 a new blacklist of tax havens, naming only 9 countries out of the 92 included initially. The European Union finance ministers agreed on 23.01.2018 to remove 8 jurisdictions, including much-criticised Panama, from the bloc’s blacklist of tax havens. Barbados, Grenada, South Korea, Macao, Mongolia, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates joined Panama as jurisdictions delisted “following commitments made at a high political level to remedy EU concerns,” according to ministers’ statement. Ministers said the delisting was a sign that the process was working as countries around the world were harmonizing EU standards on tax transparency.
The 9 remaining blacklisted countries are:
The eight delisted jurisdictions have been moved to a so-called grey list, which comprises of 47 other jurisdictions that have committed to altering their tax rules to follow EU standards on transparency and co-operation. Countries on the grey list can be moved back to the blacklist if they fail to respect such engagements.
