UAE expects removal from EU tax haven blacklist

The United Arab Emirates expects to be removed from the European Union’s (EU) blacklisted tax haven list once it complies with the EU’s transparency criteria by October next year, the government said in an official statement on Thursday. 

On Tuesday, EU finance ministers agreed to blacklist 17 jurisdictions deemed to be tax havens, including the UAE and Bahrain. 

Responding to the news, the UAE said it is “surprised and disappointed” that it has been included.

Younis Haji Al-Khouri, the UAE’s Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, said in the statement that the country has worked to meet the EU’s requirements in terms of exchanging tax-related information. 

“We have committed to a reform process which will be finalised by October 2018, and we are absolutely confident this will ensure the UAE is swiftly removed from the list. We look forward to moving into the next phase of cooperation with our EU partners on the important issue of tax regulation,” he added.  

According to the statement, the UAE has worked with the EU since early 2017 to meet the criteria laid down by the union’s member states.

“We have addressed each and every issue the EU has raised,” the government said, adding that the only outstanding issue is the implementation of the BEPS Minimum Standard, which is expected to be finalized by October 2018 and ratified by March 2019.