The Council of the European Union announced today that it intends to remove Panama, along with seven other countries, from the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. This announcement comes just over a month after the Council adopted its original blacklist of tax havens.
Co-rapporteur of the recent report produced by the Special Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA), Jeppe Kofod (DK, S&D) gave this response:
"This decision absolutely beggars belief. The EU blacklist of tax havens risks completely losing what little credibility it had as a serious instrument to fight tax havens, international tax evasion and tax avoidance.
Let's be frank, the Panama Papers scandal was described as such for a reason. Panama was, is and remains a key hub in the design and operation of countless illicit international tax evasion and avoidance schemes. These schemes produce profits by enabling the ultra-rich and certain multinational companies to escape their fair share of taxes, and so defraud EU Member States of billions."
Co-rapporteur of PANA report, Petr Ježek (CZ, ALDE) gave this response:
"The EU blacklist of tax havens is one powerful instrument we have to put pressure on those countries that we consider tax havens. An objective blacklisting process, combined with meaningful sanctions is an essential step towards ending tax havens. I welcome the Council's work in this direction.
But, to be credible and to restore confidence in the EU's fight against tax havens, the backlist must contain the right names and be regularly updated. It should not simply name and shame countries, but rather encourage a change in behaviour.
I doubt that after only one month, the countries proposed for removal from the blacklist, have changed their policies. The European Parliament has not been given the information that would allow us to properly assess whether these countries should be removed from the list. There has been an abject lack of transparency. I call on Member States to share the guarantees they received so that we can monitor the situation."
Bron: European Parliament
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