EU removes Cayman Islands from tax-haven blacklist

European Union (EU) finance ministers on Tuesday, October 6, removed the Cayman Islands from the bloc’s blacklist of tax havens, but added Anguilla and Barbados, a statement said.

Cayman Islands was removed from the EU list after it adopted new reforms, but the decision drew criticism from activists who said it showed the list was ineffective.

“While we welcome the addition of Barbados, removing the Cayman Islands, one of the world’s most notorious tax havens, from the EU tax haven blacklist is further proof that the process isn’t working,” said Oxfam’s Chiara Putaturo.

The new entrants join American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu.

Cayman Islands was only added in February and was the first time an overseas British territory was placed on the EU’s blacklist. 

The blacklist was first drawn up in 2017 in the wake of several scandals, including the Panama Papers and LuxLeaks, which pushed Brussels into doing more to fight tax evasion by multinationals and the rich.

EU member countries cannot be on the list and blacklisted countries face only limited sanctions, consisting of freezing them out of European aid or development funding. – Rappler.com