Panama stays on EU tax haven black list as Cayman Islands exits

The European Union has removed Oman and the Cayman Islands from its list of tax havens but Panama remains and  Anguilla and Barbados have been added European Union finance ministers announced on Tuesday, September 6.

The Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory, had been added to this list in February.

Meanwhile, the NGO Oxfam condemned the decision to remove the Cayman Islands, “one of the most famous tax havens in the world”, from the EU list “further proof that the procedure does not work”.

“Tax havens are robbing rich and poor countries of hundreds of billions a year, money that would be needed more than ever in the covid-19 pandemic. But instead of holding them accountable, the EU allows the most aggressive countries to be excluded from the list, “said Oxfam.

After the changes, the EU list still includes 12 territories: Anguilla and Barbados were joined by American Samoa, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, the US Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu.

The European list, which aims to fight tax evasion by multinationals and large fortunes, was created in December 2017 after the Panama Papers” scandal. Now the Mossack  Fonseca chickens have come home to roost