Today, European finance ministers updated the EU tax haven list. They added Brunei Darussalam and removed Costa Rica and Curaçao from the greylist. There were no changes to the blacklist.
In response, Chiara Putaturo, Oxfam EU tax expert, said:
"Five years ago, the European Commission promised reforms. Five years later, nothing has changed. Despite new pledges, it seems we are stuck in a cycle of all process and no progress. Meanwhile, big companies and the ultra-wealthy continue to exploit tax havens to avoid paying their fair share.
"Real reform cannot wait. The EU should blacklist any country that allows companies to pay little or no taxes or hide their true owners and thus escape accountability or taxes. The EU should also go one step further and close loopholes that allow the super-rich to avoid paying taxes by stashing their money in tax havens.
"Around the world – from the UN to the G20 – leaders are calling for action to tax the super-rich more. It is time for the EU to answer that call.
"At the end of the day, this is about fairness. It is about making sure that Europe’s taxpayers are not footing the bill for the super-rich and big companies hiding their wealth offshore."
Notes to editors
Chiara Putaturo is available for interview and comment.
Since the EU created its tax haven list, Oxfam has been calling for stronger rules to make the list fairer and more effective. Oxfam is demanding:
- To automatically blacklist countries with very low or no tax rates;
- To implement the long-awaited criterion on beneficial ownership transparency to make company ownership more transparent; and
- To expand the scope of the Code of Conduct Group to include tax avoidance by wealthy individuals, as the current rules only apply to companies. The Code of Conduct group is the body within the Council responsible for assessing harmful tax practices in the EU and third countries and manages the EU’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions.
Read Oxfam’s 2021 Tax Briefing to learn why and how the EU should reform its tax haven rules.
In 2020, the previous Commission promised to reform how it blacklists tax havens and the mandate of the Code of Conduct Group, but little has changed.
The new Climate Commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, has stated that “the Commission takes the lead in proposing changes to the EU listing criteria, which must continue to evolve, in order to adapt to new challenges”.
The current EU blacklist includes:
- Only 4 countries from the list by the reputable economist and Director of the EU Tax Observatory, Gabriel Zucman;
- 0 of the 20 worst corporate tax havens ranked by the Tax Justice Network in 2024;
- 0 of the 15 worst corporate tax havens from Oxfam’s still relevant 2016 report.
Oxfam’s latest report, Makers not takers, found that billionaire wealth in the EU grew by nearly €400 million per day in 2024, with a new billionaire emerging nearly every week. Tax havens have played a role in this explosion of wealth as they allow the richest and their corporations to avoid paying their fair share of tax.
The need to tax the ultra-rich and companies is now being discussed at a global arena including at the UN, the G20 and the negotiations for the Financing for Development Conference.
Contact information
Jade Tenwick | Brussels, Belgium | jade.tenwick@oxfam.org | Work +32 473 56 22 60 | Personal (WhatsApp only) +32 484 81 22 94
For more information on our work and to see our latest press releases, please visit oxfam.org/eu.
For updates, follow us at @OxfamEU, @NewsFromOxfam and on BlueSky. You can also find us on LinkedIn.
Chiara Putaturo is available for interview and comment.
Since the EU created its tax haven list, Oxfam has been calling for stronger rules to make the list fairer and more effective. Oxfam is demanding:
- To automatically blacklist countries with very low or no tax rates;
- To implement the long-awaited criterion on beneficial ownership transparency to make company ownership more transparent; and
- To expand the scope of the Code of Conduct Group to include tax avoidance by wealthy individuals, as the current rules only apply to companies. The Code of Conduct group is the body within the Council responsible for assessing harmful tax practices in the EU and third countries and manages the EU’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions.
Read Oxfam’s 2021 Tax Briefing to learn why and how the EU should reform its tax haven rules.
In 2020, the previous Commission promised to reform how it blacklists tax havens and the mandate of the Code of Conduct Group, but little has changed.
The new Climate Commissioner, Wopke Hoekstra, has stated that “the Commission takes the lead in proposing changes to the EU listing criteria, which must continue to evolve, in order to adapt to new challenges”.
The current EU blacklist includes:
- Only 4 countries from the list by the reputable economist and Director of the EU Tax Observatory, Gabriel Zucman;
- 0 of the 20 worst corporate tax havens ranked by the Tax Justice Network in 2024;
- 0 of the 15 worst corporate tax havens from Oxfam’s still relevant 2016 report.
Oxfam’s latest report, Makers not takers, found that billionaire wealth in the EU grew by nearly €400 million per day in 2024, with a new billionaire emerging nearly every week. Tax havens have played a role in this explosion of wealth as they allow the richest and their corporations to avoid paying their fair share of tax.
The need to tax the ultra-rich and companies is now being discussed at a global arena including at the UN, the G20 and the negotiations for the Financing for Development Conference.
Jade Tenwick | Brussels, Belgium | jade.tenwick@oxfam.org | Work +32 473 56 22 60 | Personal (WhatsApp only) +32 484 81 22 94
For more information on our work and to see our latest press releases, please visit oxfam.org/eu.
For updates, follow us at @OxfamEU, @NewsFromOxfam and on BlueSky. You can also find us on LinkedIn.