The Workers’ Party have called on Minister for Finance Paschal Donohue to propose that the EU’s “tax haven blacklist” be expanded to include European countries, when he attends next Tuesday’s ECOFIN meeting of European finance Ministers, and not solely non-EU jurisdictions as is currently the case.  

The call comes in the wake of a new report issued today (Tuesday) by Oxfam, which indicates that Ireland would qualify as a tax haven under the EU’s own criteria.

Workers’ Party Dublin City Councillor Éilis Ryan said:

“Oxfam have forensically examined Ireland’s tax affairs and policies in their report ‘Blacklist or Whitewash: What a real EU blacklist of tax havens should look like?’, and concluded that, if Europe examined its own member states, Ireland would qualify as a tax haven according to the EU’s own criteria.

“It is absurd that the European list only examines “third countries,” i.e. those outside the EU. The vast majority of the world’s wealthiest countries are within the EU itself. So, what this list is doing is effectively creating a two tier system, in which wealthier countries turn a blind eye to their own tax avoidance schemes, and poorer countries are scrutinised.”

The councillor continued:

“Minister Donohue will next Tuesday be attending a meeting of European Finance Ministers. At that meeting, the EU will be launching its own ‘blacklist’ of tax havens. The Workers’ Party are calling on Minister Donohue to propose to his European counterparts that the list be expanded to examine EU member states also.  

“It is in Ireland’s own interests that we show some leadership on the issue of tax transparency. Inevitably, we will have to adopt a more sustainable, less exploitative corporate tax regime – we would be better off doing this pre-emptively, rather than having it forced on is by other countries.

“Unfortunately it appears highly unlikely that any of our major parties are willing to do this.”