Aiming at the creation of a common EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, the European Commission released ‘a pre-assessment of all third countries according to key indicators’.
The new list will replace the current framework of national ‘black lists’ which have as a purpose to punish all non-EU countries that do not comply with international tax good governance standards. According to the Commission, an EU list will also help to deter aggressive tax planners from abusing mismatches between the different national systems of Member States.
EU Member States have now the discretion to choose the countries which should be screened more fully over the next months in order to identify with accurateness those which are not consistent with international tax transparency standards.
During the listing process, the EU will cooperate with the OECD and will consider the OECD’s assessment of each jurisdictions transparency standards.
As Mr Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs stressed,
“The EU takes its international tax good governance commitments seriously. It is reasonable for us to expect the same from our international partners. We want to have fair and open discussions with our partners on tax issues that concern us all in the global community. The EU list will be our tool to deal with third countries that refuse to play fair.”