Panama will be Removed from the European Union’s List of Tax Havens In October 2026.
Vietnam will be placed on the so-called “grey list”, while Panama will be removed completely.
The European Union (EU) is set to remove Vietnam and Panama from its list of tax havens at a meeting of the bloc’s finance ministers scheduled for next month in Luxembourg. Vietnam will be placed on the so-called “grey list”, while Panama will be removed entirely, according to sources familiar with the matter. It is worth remembering that the EU updates its list of non-cooperative countries twice a year, with the aim of combating tax evasion and promoting transparency. For example, the US territories of Guam, Samoa, and the Virgin Islands, as well as Russia and Vanuatu, are currently on the list.
President José Raúl Mulino’s government has repeatedly stated that getting off this list is one of its top priorities. In fact, this year the government managed to push through a law aimed at increasing fiscal transparency and taking stricter measures against shell companies, which was called the economic substance law. Last year, the current government of Panama also succeeded in having the country excluded from the European Union’s list of high-risk third countries and non-cooperative jurisdictions linked to money laundering and financial crimes.
