Vol 19 (2022) - Issue 1

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The EU’s List of Tax Havens: A Resounding Failure?

Synopsis
The EU’s list of 'non-cooperative jurisdictions' was forged to inspire reform. By naming third countries that encourage abusive tax practices, it was hoped that they would be shamed into action. However, the regime has hown itself to be fundamentally flawed and marred by political complications.
The current list includes just nine countries, collectively responsible for a meagre 2% of global tax losses: American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, US Virgin Islands and Vanuatu.
In January this year, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for serious reform by the end of 2021. In the words of the Chair of the Subcommittee on Tax Matters, Paul Tang: 'While the list can be a good tool, member states forgot something when composing it: actual tax havens. The truth is, the list is not getting better, it’s getting worse.' Since then, there has been resounding silence.