France strikes British islands off list of tax havens

Wednesday, 23 December 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

AFP: France has removed the British Virgin Islands and Montserrat from its list of uncooperative tax havens, according to a decree signed Monday by Finance Minister Michel Sapin.

The British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean had previously been on a list of countries that did not cooperate with France in efforts to combat tax fraud.

“Almost all of the requests transmitted to the British Virgin Islands were completed,” the finance ministry said in a statement.

Authorities “committed to changing their internal procedures to make it easier to access requested information.”

The island of Montserrat in the British West Indies was removed from the list after authorities approved a legal framework for the exchange of information.

Last year France cleared Bermuda and Jersey from its list of non-compliant countries or territories.

Still on the list are Botswana, Brunei, Guatemala, the Marshall Islands, Nauru and Niue.

“In 2016 France will pay careful attention to its exchanges with Panama,” warned the finance ministry which said cooperation had been “unsatisfactory”.

The European Union in June published its first list of international tax havens as part of a crackdown on multinational companies trying to avoid paying tax in the 28-nation bloc.

The EU list of 30 non-cooperative jurisdictions includes Panama, the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong and Monaco.