Tax haven

Today, EU finance ministers agreed on the reform of the mandate of the Code of Conduct Group, the body within the Council of the EU that assesses harmful tax regimes and is responsible for the EU tax haven list. This reform updated the definition of harmful tax regimes in EU countries. No progress was made on updating the criteria for the EU tax haven list.  

Under this new proposal, companies’ profits and their ability to shift them offshore will barely be affected and consequently developing countries will only see a very small increase in their corporate tax revenues. 

The Mauritius Leaks show that tax havens continue not only to exist but to prosper, despite government promises to rein in tax dodging. This briefing lists five steps governments can take to tackle tax avoidance, and end the era of tax havens and the race to the bottom on corporate taxation.

European Union finance ministers have removed the British territory of Bermuda, Barbados, and the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba from the EU blacklist of tax havens today.

Tax havens deprive governments around the world of billions of dollars each year, fuelling inequality and poverty. The EU blacklisting process was announced as an attempt to put an end to the era of tax havens. Unfortunately – according to Oxfam research – the EU is set to whitewash some of the world’s worst tax havens.

New Oxfam research shows that four pharmaceutical corporations – Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co (MSD), and Pfizer – systematically hide their profits in overseas tax havens. This activity could deprive developing countries of more than $100 million every year – money that is urgently needed to meet the health needs of people in these countries.

This briefing includes recommendations for how Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) can take a much-needed and overdue proactive role in ensuring tax payments and domestic resource mobilization in developing countries follow from their investment decisions.

47 economists and experts from across Japan, including Iwahito Katsui, renowned economist and professor emeritus at Tokyo University, have come together to urge the Japanese government to take a lead on tackling tax havens at the G7 Leaders Summit.

The Netherlands is a top EU tax haven for corporations, an Oxfam analysis of European Commission data shows.