World economic crisis

OECD drops four countries from tax havens blacklist

Article published on the 2009-04-08 Latest update 2009-04-08 14:13 TU

Malaysia's Petronas Towers
(Photo: Wikimedia commons)

The international economic development organisation, the OECD, has removed Costa Rica, Malaysia, the Philippines and Uruguay from its list of unco-operative tax havens.

All four countries have promised to open up their books and exchange information according to OECD standards.

Costa Rica, Malaysia, the Philippines and Uruguay were the only remaining countries on the first of three lists which were published after the G20 summit in London agreed to crack down on tax havens.

The four will be put on a so-called "grey list" along with 38 other territories that had committed to more transparency, but have not yet fully complied.

The OECD seeks to co-ordinate the economic policies of its 30 industrialised members.

The global financial crisis has given rise to calls for radical action to curb abuses blamed for the crash, among them tax evasion and bank secrecy.

Transparency International France last year estimated about seven trillion euros, four times France's gross domestic product, were stashed in secret offshore accounts, escaping tax.

On France 24 TV  France, Germany push for tax haven blacklist