41 countries are tax havens according to OECD criteria

41 countries are tax havens according to OECD criteria

AGENCIES

PARIS: Data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development points to 41 countries as having tax-haven status according to four criteria.

The four criteria are: insignificant or non-existent tax levels, absence of transparency in tax matters, absence of fiscal data exchange with other countries and attractiveness for straw companies with fictitious activities.

Some jurisdictions have taken steps to boost transparency in their dealings with the OECD, which seeks to coordinate economic policies among the world's leading industrialised nations.

Others, notably Liechtenstein, Andora and Monaco, exchange no information with other states.

However, of the total, 38 countries have made commitments to the OECD to ensure transparency and to exchange data:

Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Dutch Antilles Aruba The Bahamas Bahreïn Barbados Belize Bermuda Cyprus Dominica Gibraltar Grenada Guernesey Cayman Islands Cook Islands Isle of Man Marshall Islands Mauritious British Virgin Islands US Virgin Islands Jersey Liberia Maldives Malta Montserrat Nauru Niue Panama Samoa Saint Kitts et Nevis Sainta Lucia Saint Martin Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Seychelles Tonga Turks et Caicos Vanuatu

The OECD has labelled three states as non-cooperative Andorra Liechtenstein Monaco