The European Union has removed Antigua and Barbuda from its tax haven
blacklist, an instrument that has been slammed as ineffective in the
past by anti-poverty groups.
The list, approved by the EU’s member states, now counts 11
jurisdictions deemed non-cooperative for tax purposes, particularly
where it comes to sharing tax information.
It now has American Samoa, Anguilla, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama,
Russia, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, US Virgin Islands and Vanuatu on the
list.
“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.
The list was created in 2017 in the wake of a series of scandals,
including the Panama Papers, that put pressure on Brussels to crack down
on tax evasion by the rich.
Charity Oxfam has in the past criticised it as “toothless”, arguing countries that should have been included were instead often left out.
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