Oct 05, 2022
The anti-poverty charity Oxfam on Tuesday denounced the European Union's updated list of tax havens, which one expert at the group called a "whitewash" for removing one of the world's most infamous offshore safe harbors while exempting offenders in Europe.
"The current list makes the E.U. a hypocrite as major tax havens in Europe like Malta and Luxembourg escape."
The E.U. list of "noncooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes"--first published in 2017 in an effort to address rampant tax evasion--now includes Anguilla, the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.
American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu remain on the list, while Bermuda was removed.
"How can anyone give this list any credibility? Bermuda is one of the world's worst tax havens with its zero corporate tax rate. Yet, the E.U. took it off the list after it made a few woolly promises to reform," said Oxfam E.U. tax expert Chiara Putaturo said in a statement.
"To add insult to injury, major European tax havens like Luxembourg are not on the list because all E.U. countries receive an automatic free pass," she added. "This is not a blacklist, it is a whitewash."
\u201c\u203c\ufe0f Review of EU #taxhaven\u2019s list remains a total whitewash \u203c\ufe0f\n\n"Bermuda is one of the world\u2019s worst tax havens with its zero corporate tax rate. Yet, the EU took it off the list after it made a few woolly promises to reform" added @ChiaraPutaturo \n\nhttps://t.co/5wZFP4SCTM\n#ECOFIN\u201d— Oxfam EU (@Oxfam EU) 1664877910
As the Panama Papers, Pandora Papers, OpenLux, and other investigative reports revealed how capitalist enterprises and the global superrich use offshore havens to avoid taxation--often through the use of shell companies--the European Commission last year launched an initiative "to fight against the misuse of shell entities for improper tax purposes."
However, Oxfam and others denounced the initiative--which excluded financial service firms--as inadequate while E.U. proposals to crack down on evasion and fraud have faced formidable obstacles, including from European countries like Luxembourg, Malta, and Ireland that have been called tax havens.
"Nothing has changed," said Putaturo, who argued that the E.U. "should automatically blacklist zero- and low-tax rate countries and hold European countries up to the same level of scrutiny as non-European countries."
Related Content
'A Shameful Distinction': US Ranked World's Biggest Perpetrator of Financial Secrecy
Noting the "free pass" given to members of the 27-nation bloc, Putaturo said that "the current list makes the E.U. a hypocrite as major tax havens in Europe like Malta and Luxembourg escape the list while countries outside Europe like Eswatini and Botswana risk being blacklisted."
"Stronger criteria could stop the industrial levels of tax dodging by the world's richest and corporates," she added. "Governments and ordinary people are facing the cost-of-living crisis. Ending tax havens could provide the much-needed hundreds of billions in revenue as the world's superrich would have to pay their fair share."
No one is coming to save us. Join with us.
The world is a pretty dark place right now. Economic inequality off the charts. The climate emergency. Supreme Court corruption in the U.S. and corporate capture worldwide. Democracy in many nations coming apart at the seams. Fascism threatens. It’s enough to make you wish for some powerful being to come along and save us. But the truth is this: no heroes are coming to save us. The only path to real and progressive change is when well-informed, well-intentioned people—fed up with being kicked around by the rich, the powerful, and the wicked—get organized and fight for the better world we all deserve. That’s why we created Common Dreams. We cover the issues that corporate media never will and lift up voices others would rather keep silent. But this people-powered media model can only survive with the support of readers like you. Can you join with us and donate right now to Common Dreams? |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The anti-poverty charity Oxfam on Tuesday denounced the European Union's updated list of tax havens, which one expert at the group called a "whitewash" for removing one of the world's most infamous offshore safe harbors while exempting offenders in Europe.
"The current list makes the E.U. a hypocrite as major tax havens in Europe like Malta and Luxembourg escape."
The E.U. list of "noncooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes"--first published in 2017 in an effort to address rampant tax evasion--now includes Anguilla, the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.
American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu remain on the list, while Bermuda was removed.
"How can anyone give this list any credibility? Bermuda is one of the world's worst tax havens with its zero corporate tax rate. Yet, the E.U. took it off the list after it made a few woolly promises to reform," said Oxfam E.U. tax expert Chiara Putaturo said in a statement.
"To add insult to injury, major European tax havens like Luxembourg are not on the list because all E.U. countries receive an automatic free pass," she added. "This is not a blacklist, it is a whitewash."
\u201c\u203c\ufe0f Review of EU #taxhaven\u2019s list remains a total whitewash \u203c\ufe0f\n\n"Bermuda is one of the world\u2019s worst tax havens with its zero corporate tax rate. Yet, the EU took it off the list after it made a few woolly promises to reform" added @ChiaraPutaturo \n\nhttps://t.co/5wZFP4SCTM\n#ECOFIN\u201d— Oxfam EU (@Oxfam EU) 1664877910
As the Panama Papers, Pandora Papers, OpenLux, and other investigative reports revealed how capitalist enterprises and the global superrich use offshore havens to avoid taxation--often through the use of shell companies--the European Commission last year launched an initiative "to fight against the misuse of shell entities for improper tax purposes."
However, Oxfam and others denounced the initiative--which excluded financial service firms--as inadequate while E.U. proposals to crack down on evasion and fraud have faced formidable obstacles, including from European countries like Luxembourg, Malta, and Ireland that have been called tax havens.
"Nothing has changed," said Putaturo, who argued that the E.U. "should automatically blacklist zero- and low-tax rate countries and hold European countries up to the same level of scrutiny as non-European countries."
Related Content
'A Shameful Distinction': US Ranked World's Biggest Perpetrator of Financial Secrecy
Noting the "free pass" given to members of the 27-nation bloc, Putaturo said that "the current list makes the E.U. a hypocrite as major tax havens in Europe like Malta and Luxembourg escape the list while countries outside Europe like Eswatini and Botswana risk being blacklisted."
"Stronger criteria could stop the industrial levels of tax dodging by the world's richest and corporates," she added. "Governments and ordinary people are facing the cost-of-living crisis. Ending tax havens could provide the much-needed hundreds of billions in revenue as the world's superrich would have to pay their fair share."
The anti-poverty charity Oxfam on Tuesday denounced the European Union's updated list of tax havens, which one expert at the group called a "whitewash" for removing one of the world's most infamous offshore safe harbors while exempting offenders in Europe.
"The current list makes the E.U. a hypocrite as major tax havens in Europe like Malta and Luxembourg escape."
The E.U. list of "noncooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes"--first published in 2017 in an effort to address rampant tax evasion--now includes Anguilla, the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.
American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu remain on the list, while Bermuda was removed.
"How can anyone give this list any credibility? Bermuda is one of the world's worst tax havens with its zero corporate tax rate. Yet, the E.U. took it off the list after it made a few woolly promises to reform," said Oxfam E.U. tax expert Chiara Putaturo said in a statement.
"To add insult to injury, major European tax havens like Luxembourg are not on the list because all E.U. countries receive an automatic free pass," she added. "This is not a blacklist, it is a whitewash."
\u201c\u203c\ufe0f Review of EU #taxhaven\u2019s list remains a total whitewash \u203c\ufe0f\n\n"Bermuda is one of the world\u2019s worst tax havens with its zero corporate tax rate. Yet, the EU took it off the list after it made a few woolly promises to reform" added @ChiaraPutaturo \n\nhttps://t.co/5wZFP4SCTM\n#ECOFIN\u201d— Oxfam EU (@Oxfam EU) 1664877910
As the Panama Papers, Pandora Papers, OpenLux, and other investigative reports revealed how capitalist enterprises and the global superrich use offshore havens to avoid taxation--often through the use of shell companies--the European Commission last year launched an initiative "to fight against the misuse of shell entities for improper tax purposes."
However, Oxfam and others denounced the initiative--which excluded financial service firms--as inadequate while E.U. proposals to crack down on evasion and fraud have faced formidable obstacles, including from European countries like Luxembourg, Malta, and Ireland that have been called tax havens.
"Nothing has changed," said Putaturo, who argued that the E.U. "should automatically blacklist zero- and low-tax rate countries and hold European countries up to the same level of scrutiny as non-European countries."
Related Content
'A Shameful Distinction': US Ranked World's Biggest Perpetrator of Financial Secrecy
Noting the "free pass" given to members of the 27-nation bloc, Putaturo said that "the current list makes the E.U. a hypocrite as major tax havens in Europe like Malta and Luxembourg escape the list while countries outside Europe like Eswatini and Botswana risk being blacklisted."
"Stronger criteria could stop the industrial levels of tax dodging by the world's richest and corporates," she added. "Governments and ordinary people are facing the cost-of-living crisis. Ending tax havens could provide the much-needed hundreds of billions in revenue as the world's superrich would have to pay their fair share."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.