The EU wants to officially certify that Switzerland is not a tax haven. At the meeting of EU finance ministers, the 28 Member States want to decide to remove Switzerland from its "gray list" of countries under scrutiny. EU diplomats confirmed the SPIEGEL a corresponding message from the news agency AFP.
The list introduced at the end of 2017 includes countries that, from the EU's point of view, have dubious tax practices but have pledged to change them. The deletion from the list appears to be in response to a tax reform in Switzerland in October 2018.
Switzerland had already decided on a tax reform in October 2018, but its implementation had been delayed due to a referendum, as stated in the draft resolution for the finance ministers. The changes are now in force and would apply from 1 January 2020. This would allow Switzerland to be removed from the list.
The EU stepped up its stance against tax havens at the end of 2017 following revelations such as the Panama Papers on widespread tax evasion practices. At that time, the lists were also introduced.
The EU also wants to relieve Albania, Costa Rica, Mauritius and Serbia, which have also been listed so far. The United Arab Emirates and the Marshall Islands, meanwhile, are to be removed from the black EU list of tax havens that have so far been uncooperative.
The "black list" lists countries with even more dubious tax practices. Nine countries and territories remain after the amendment: the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Belize, Fiji, Guam, Oman, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago and Vanuatu. Switzerland has never been blacklisted since its launch.
