EU considers adding UAE, Oman on tax haven blacklist

European Union states have added ten jurisdictions to a draft tax haven blacklist, including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bermuda, an EU official told Reuters on Tuesday, in a move that would triple the number of listed countries.

The measure comes more than one year after the bloc decided to blacklist jurisdictions that are non-cooperative on tax matters and to monitor countries that commit to change their tax rules to comply with EU standards.

In a meeting yesterday, EU envoys were due to agree on the new list which will then be formally adopted by EU finance ministers in a meeting on 12 March.

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The existing list includes only five jurisdictions: Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago and the three United States’ territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands.

The new draft list has been broadened to 15 jurisdictions, including the UAE, Oman, the British territory of Bermuda, and other Caribbean and Pacific islands, the official said.

However, EU states are still considering whether Bermuda and the UAE will be added, the official said.