OECD names tax havens, sparks protest

The OECD has published its blacklist of non-cooperative tax havens, drawing sharp criticism from the countries included in the list. 

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) placed Costa Rica, Malaysia, the Philippines and Uruguay on the blacklist, as part of efforts agreed at the G20 summit to crack down on tax havens. 

There is a second 'gray list' of 38 countries that have agreed to improve transparency standards but have not yet fully implemented them. 

The second list included European countries such as Austria, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco and Switzerland as well Cayman Islands, Chile and Singapore. 

OECD also published a 'white list' of 40 countries that have substantially implemented the internationally agreed tax standards. 

The Group of 20 leading industrialized and emerging nations pledged on Thursday to take action including sanctions against tax havens, using information from the OECD as its basis. 

Malaysia, the Philippines and Uruguay protested they had been wrongly included in the black list, saying their countries were committed to global OECD tax standards. 

In Europe, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland complained of their inclusion on the gray list. 

Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker criticized the way the lists were drawn up and said his country's inclusion of any international list of offshore financial centers meant several US states with tax-friendly laws should also be put in the list.