The UK government is fighting a rearguard action to prevent Guernsey, Jersey and British overseas territories from going on an EU blacklist of tax havens. These countries argue that the EU has no right to penalise outside jurisdictions for setting zero rates because corporate tax is not an EU competence. In contrast, Germany and France think zero rates should automatically mean a country is deemed “unfair” on taxation and goes on to the blacklist. The division may frustrate hopes of agreeing the blacklist criteria on Tuesday, as EU tax policy has to be agreed unanimously. The MEP added: “We need a strong EU blacklist of tax havens.

Source: The Guardian November 07, 2016 19:09 UTC