European Union Tax Haven Blacklist: History and Current Status

The European Union's tax haven blacklist has a fascinating history. The EU first announced its plans to create a blacklist in 2016.

It was a response to growing concerns about tax avoidance and evasion, particularly among multinational corporations. The EU aimed to create a list of non-EU countries that were considered to be tax havens.

The blacklist was initially announced in December 2017, with 17 countries included. These countries were deemed to be non-cooperative in the fight against tax evasion and avoidance.

Since then, the list has been updated several times, with new countries added and others removed.

The European Union's tax haven blacklist has a clear set of criteria for listing jurisdictions. These criteria include transparency, fair tax competition, and BEPS implementation.

Jurisdictions that don't meet all three of these criteria are flagged as tax havens. The EU uses the OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting minimum standards to evaluate BEPS implementation.

In 2017, the original list contained additional countries, but 25 of these countries have been cleared and removed from the list by March 2019.

The EU Commission uses a set of strict criteria to determine which jurisdictions are considered tax havens. These criteria are based on three key areas: Transparency, Fair Tax Competition, and BEPS implementation (the OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting minimum standards).

To be considered compliant, a jurisdiction must meet all three of these criteria. If a jurisdiction fails to meet one or more of these criteria, it is flagged as a tax haven by the EU.

The EU's criteria are designed to ensure that jurisdictions are transparent in their tax practices, compete fairly with other countries, and implement the OECD's minimum standards to prevent base erosion and profit shifting.

The history of listing criteria is a long and winding road, with its roots dating back to the 1800s when the first stock exchanges were established in the United States.

One of the earliest listing criteria was the requirement that companies have a minimum of 1,000 shareholders, which was introduced in 1817.

The first stock exchange in the United States, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, was established in 1790, but it wasn't until 1817 that it began to develop listing criteria.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was founded in 1792 and initially had no listing criteria, but by the mid-1800s it began to establish its own set of rules.

The NYSE's first listing criteria were introduced in 1863 and required companies to have a minimum of $500,000 in capitalization.

By the early 1900s, listing criteria had become more formalized, with the NYSE introducing a set of rules that required companies to have a minimum of 1,000 shareholders and $1 million in capitalization.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was established in 1934 and gave the NYSE and other stock exchanges the authority to set their own listing criteria.

The SEC also introduced its own set of listing criteria, which required companies to have a minimum of 300 shareholders and $2 million in capitalization.

Today, listing criteria continue to evolve, with the NYSE and other stock exchanges regularly updating their rules to reflect changing market conditions and regulatory requirements.

The NYSE's current listing criteria require companies to have a minimum of 400 shareholders and $10 million in market value, among other things.

The European Union's tax haven blacklist is a complex issue, but let's break it down to its current status. In December 2017, the EU announced its first-ever blacklist of non-EU tax havens, consisting of 17 countries.

The list was created to address the issue of tax avoidance and evasion within the EU. The EU's code of conduct group, which is responsible for compiling the list, assesses countries based on their tax policies and practices.

The code of conduct group assesses countries based on five key criteria: tax transparency, fair taxation, exchange of information, fair and effective exchange of tax information, and implementation of international standards.

The EU's blacklist is not a one-time list, but rather a dynamic list that is reviewed and updated regularly. The European Commission reviews the list every six months to ensure that it remains up-to-date and effective.

The blacklist has already led to some changes in the countries listed. For example, in 2018, the Marshall Islands committed to implementing the EU's standards on tax transparency and cooperation.

The EU's blacklist is an important step towards creating a more level playing field in taxation.

The EU has taken significant steps to combat tax avoidance and promote transparency in financial dealings. They've named and shamed 17 countries and territories as tax havens.

The EU has proposed new rules that would force multinational companies operating in the bloc to reveal details about their operations in tax havens and summarize how much tax they pay worldwide. This is a direct response to high-profile examples of tax avoidance made public in recent years.

The EU has also taken legal action against major firms, including Amazon, for allegedly owing back taxes. This shows the EU's commitment to holding companies accountable for their tax practices.

The EU will update the blacklist at least annually, which is a positive step towards keeping tax havens in check. The full list of jurisdictions on the blacklist includes 17 countries and territories.

Here is the list of blacklisted countries and territories:

The penalties for being on the blacklist include special documentation requirements and withholding tax measures, which can have significant consequences for businesses operating in these countries.

The European Union's tax haven blacklist is a list of countries that do not meet the EU's tax good governance standards.

The list is reviewed annually, and countries can be added or removed based on their progress.

In 2020, the EU added 5 new countries to the list, including Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, and Oman.

The EU's goal is to prevent tax evasion and money laundering by countries that do not cooperate with international tax standards.

Countries on the list are subject to increased scrutiny and monitoring, and may face economic sanctions if they do not comply.

Some tax havens are missing from the EU's blacklist because the criteria for inclusion are too weak. The Cayman Islands, the Seychelles, Jersey, the British Virgin Islands, and other countries that offer corporations a 0% tax rate were missing from the blacklist in October.

The EU's blacklist is supposed to be a tool for fighting tax avoidance and naming and shaming countries that create unfair tax competition. However, it fails to include countries like Switzerland, which benefits from the weak criteria despite scandals like the Suisse Secrets.

Turkey has repeatedly failed to comply with the criteria or change its tax system, but it has managed to avoid the blacklist for years. This is because the EU's grey list, which is for countries whose tax practices warrant further scrutiny, gives countries a pass if they make some commitment to change.

The US, despite playing a big role in the Pandora Papers, has not been added to the blacklist. This is likely because it has managed to jump through the right loopholes, just like Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, and the Bahamas, which offer big corporations a 0% tax rate but are only on the grey list.

The EU's blacklist is meant to fight against tax avoidance and unfair tax competition, but it's being undermined. The criteria for blacklisting tax havens need to be stronger.

The European Parliament has repeatedly demanded the list be revised, showing that the EU's tax haven blacklist is not being taken seriously. This is not just a matter of politics, but also of fairness.

Countries offering 0% tax deals should be listed immediately, as they are clearly not following fair tax practices. The lack of transparency and accountability in the list's updates is a major issue.

If the EU doesn't fix its blacklist, large corporations will continue to benefit from not paying taxes, while EU citizens will have to pay for the mess. It's up to the EU's governments to take action and fix the blacklist.