EU Commission issues first countermeasures against countries on tax haven blacklist

The European Commission on March 21 put in place the first EU countermeasures against countries on its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, i.e., its tax haven blacklist.

In new guidelines, the Commission stopped the transit of EU funds through blacklist countries.

“The Commission will not allow EU funds to contribute to global tax avoidance. These EU level countermeasures should act as a wake-up call for those jurisdictions as they show the EU is serious about tackling tax avoidance on a global scale,” said Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Union.

Nine jurisdictions are currently on the EU’s tax blacklist: American Samoa, Bahamas, Guam, Namibia, Palau, Samoa, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and the US Virgin Islands. The EU tax blacklist was last updated on March 13.

Moscovici said the blacklist is “living document” and will be updated to add more countries if they don’t live up to commitments they have made to the EU to improve their tax systems

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