públicas
— Read on http://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/mundo/notas/la-union-europea-reduce-lista-de-paraisos-fiscales-en-medio-de-escandalo-por-los-pandora-papers/

European Union reduces list of tax havens amid Pandora Papers scandal

The review of the “black list” coincided with the publication of the investigation, which splashes world leaders and other public figures

A tax haven is known in English as a “tax haven”.

The countries of the European Union eliminated Seychelles, Anguilla and Dominica from their “black list” of tax havens on Tuesday, a cut that has further exacerbated criticism against this repertoire for arriving in the middle of the Pandora Papers scandal, which reveal the use of these tax havens by the world elite.

The investigation uncovered on Sunday has reopened the debate on European rules against tax evasion and money laundering, which were reinforced after the Panama Papers in 2016, and has led MEPs from all over the political spectrum and NGOs to call for more toughness against activities that each year deprive the public coffers of millions of dollars in taxes.

Despite this, the 27 Ministers of Economy and Finance approved a change that leaves the “black list” in nine countries: Panama, American Samoa, the Fiji Islands, Guam, Palau, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States Virgin Islands. and Vanuatu.

Seychelles, Anguilla and Dominica are now on the “gray” list of countries that have committed to reform.

“The Council today decided to transfer three countries from the black list to the gray list. The reason is that they committed to what we asked of them: to guarantee that not only companies, but also collective societies, demonstrate that they have a real activity, and they committed to apply legislation in that sense ”, declared the Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni .

In a press conference after the meeting of economic headlines from the European Union in Luxembourg, Gentiloni assured that revelations such as those of the Pandora Papers are “a kind of propellant for political initiatives” of the European Parliament and the European Commission.

In that sense, he recalled that the Community Executive will present a legislative proposal on shell companies before the end of the year. He insisted that, with his list, the European Union seeks to use its “influence” to promote change in countries.

“Is this working as it should? Well, of course, not completely because we all know that tax avoidance, tax havens, are always searching and finding new paths. But, in principle, I think this is the way we should follow, apply pressure and use influence to bring about change, ”admitted Gentiloni.

He acknowledged, however, that the criteria for making the list “could be debated.”

“If stricter legislation could be passed, I would always be in favor,” he noted.

Although the update of the list was scheduled, since the list is reviewed every six months, it coincides with the leak published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which shows how politicians, millionaires, celebrities and criminals used a tangle of trusts and shell companies in Panama, Bahamas, Andorra, South Dakota in the United States and Seychelles, among others.

These and other territories considered tax havens are characterized by an opaque regulation that makes it difficult to know who is really behind the companies and facilitates escaping the treasury. And while offshore companies are not illegal, they are often used to avoid paying taxes.

“Some of the worst-known tax havens in the world are not even on the European Union’s list and the finance ministers are going to leave out even more,” criticized the socialist MEP Aurore Lalucq, writer of a report that will go to vote on Wednesday in the European Parliament to ask for more measures against bad tax practices.

The economic spokesman for the Popular Party in the European Parliament, Markus Ferber, criticized in a statement that the list “has no claw” and that “watering it down even more” this week “sends the wrong signal.”

“The world turned upside down: Pandora Papers require a determined response from Europe against tax fraud and global money laundering. Instead, finance ministers are cutting the European Union’s list of tax havens and making it even more ineffective, ”Green MEP Sven Giegold denounced on Twitter.

Since it was launched in 2017, this black list has been criticized for not including European Union countries or containing sanctions for tax havens, beyond prohibiting the transit of community funds through companies based in these territories.

The report that the European Parliament will vote on Wednesday, however, asks to adopt sanctions for the countries on the list and include among the criteria that are evaluated whether the jurisdictions have tax regimes designed to attract the rich.

The Pandora Papers are a leak of more than 11.9 million documents from offshore companies obtained by the ICIJ, an organization that led the investigation of more than 600 journalists from 150 media around the world for two years. The list of names includes 35 world leaders, more than 330 politicians, artists and athletes.

La revisión de la “lista negra” coincidió con la publicación de la investigación, que salpica a líderes mundiales y otras figuras públicas
— Read on www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/mundo/notas/la-union-europea-reduce-lista-de-paraisos-fiscales-en-medio-de-escandalo-por-los-pandora-papers/