19/12/17

CARICOM 'Strongly Opposed' To New EU Blacklist

(LowTax) -- The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has expressed "strong objections" to the recent labelling of some of its member states as non-cooperative tax jurisdictions by the European Union.

Secretary-General of CARICOM Irwin LaRocque described the EU's blacklisting of some member states as "arbitrary and punitive."

LaRocque pointed out that CARICOM members have not been labelled as uncooperative jurisdictions by other standards setters, including the Financial Action Task Force and the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

He said: "This decision by the EU has been based on new and unilaterally determined criteria that go beyond the generally accepted international tax transparency and accountability standards, which our countries have been diligently meeting over the past several years."

"CARICOM strongly objects to this listing of our member states and calls on the EU to remove our member states from this pernicious list," he said, noting the CARICOM stands ready to discuss the matter with the European Council.

LaRocque said a major consequence of "blacklisting" has been the withdrawal of correspondent banking services by certain international banks. He said this has had a "detrimental impact on the trade and financial operations" of the region's economies.