Macau Rejects Tax Haven Designation

Macau authorities have rejected what they call the European Union’s “unilateral and biased” decision to include the territory on a blacklist of 17 purported global tax havens.

Listed countries could face sanctions

Officials in Macau say the city’s inclusion on the European Union’s blacklist of global tax havens “does not tally with the real situation” in the jurisdiction.

According to the Macau News, authorities responded within hours of the list’s release, saying the government of the MSAR believes “the EU took a unilateral and biased decision that does not tally with the real situation of Macau.”

The statement continued that Macau is “absolutely not” a tax haven, and has cooperated with the international community including the EU and the Paris-based Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development in fighting international tax evasion.

The list of 17 countries also includes South Korea, Panama, Bahrain, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Barbados, Samoa, American Samoa, Grenada, Guam, the Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Namibia, Palau, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago, according to the South China Morning Post