The U.S. possessions Guam and American Samoa are among the 17 tax havens blacklisted by the E.U. for failure to meet international standards for tax transparency, fair taxation, and mechanisms against base erosion and profit shifting.
The censure is attributed to several facts. Guam and America Samoa do not apply any automatic exchange of financial information and have not signed and ratified – including through their governing jurisdiction – the O.E.C.D. Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance. They do not apply the B.E.P.S. minimum standards, nor have they committed to address these issues by the E.U. deadline, December 31, 2018.
The screening process for certain Caribbean jurisdictions, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, is on hold in light of the devastating storms that struck the region in September 2017, causing casualties and major damage to key infrastructure. However, these jurisdictions will be contacted by February 2018 to ensure that the matter can be resolved by the end of 2018.
Other countries on the E.U. blacklist include Bahrain, Barbados, Grenada, Korea, Macao SAR, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Namibia, Palau, Panama, Saint Lucia, Samos, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.
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