The European Commission is working to draw up a black list of the various countries in the world that do not cooperate on the tax front. The list, which should be completed by 2017, aims to give a single tool to EU members engaged in the fight against tax evasion, overcoming the current fragmentation of the lists prepared by individual states.
A preliminary assessment of the non-EU countries most at risk was presented last week and in the coming months - probably starting in January - more in-depth examinations will be conducted to further narrow the circle and isolate with certainty the administrations that do not comply with the tax rules.
“The EU takes its international good governance commitments seriously – said Pierre Moscovici, EU economic affairs commissioner -. We want to have a fair and open discussion with our partners on tax issues that affect us all globally. The EU list will be our tool for dealing with third countries that refuse to comply with the rules”.
In the preliminary lists already drawn up, a specific space is reserved for some traditional tax havens such as Andorra, Liechtenstein, the Principality of Monaco, San Marino and Switzerland because they have recently concluded agreements with the EU aimed at guaranteeing "Tax Transparency".
In the final evaluation, the adhesion or not to the Common reporting standard, the multilateral system of automatic exchange of data between tax administrations of the OECD, will also weigh.
