EU removes Bahamas, Seychelles from tax haven blacklist

BRUSSELS: The EU removed the Bahamas, Seychelles and two other jurisdictions from its tax havens blacklist on Tuesday, a move anti-poverty group Oxfam said showed the list was “a waste of time”.

The list, approved by the EU’s member states, now counts 12 jurisdictions deemed non-cooperative for tax purposes, particularly where it comes to sharing tax information.

The European Union removed Bahamas, Belize, Seychelles, and Turks and Caicos Islands from the list.

It now has: American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Russia, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, US Virgin Islands and Vanuatu.

“The Council regrets that these jurisdictions are not yet cooperative on tax matters and invites them to improve their legal framework in order to resolve the identified issues,” the council, made up of the EU’s 27 member states, said in a statement.

Oxfam urged Brussels to “overhaul” the list.

“Today’s update highlights once again that, without reform, this list is a waste of everyone’s time,” said Chiara Putaturo, Oxfam EU tax expert.

“The Bahamas is one of the world’s worst tax havens, yet it has been removed from the list. The same for the Seychelles, a hotbed of shell companies where multinationals reap massive profits. Meanwhile, EU tax havens get a free pass,” Putaturo added.

“If the EU is serious about ending tax avoidance, the new (European) Commission must urgently overhaul this list to serve its intended purpose,” Putaturo said in a statement.

The EU cannot include its own member states.

The list was created in 2017 in the wake of a series of scandals, including the Panama Papers, that put pressure on Brussels to clamp down on tax evasion by the rich.