EU Tax Haven Blacklist Update

The unveiling of the EU tax haven blacklist was covered in our Alert dated 12 December, 2017. While the consequences of a jurisdiction being on the blacklist remain largely unclear, clients may wish to review whether they have transactions which involve blacklisted jurisdictions and to consider carefully the uncertainty and possible reputational consequences of undertaking new transactions involving blacklisted jurisdictions.

Earlier this week, EU officials announced their proposal to remove eight jurisdictions from its tax-haven blacklist, as they offered to change their tax rules following the publication of the blacklist itself in December. These eight jurisdictions include: Panama, South Korea, the UAE, Barbados, Grenada, Macao, Mongolia and Tunisia. The move will be discussed by officials in Brussels later this week, and EU finance ministers are likely to make a decision on the proposal later this month. If the removal plan is approved, then these eight