The letter, written by US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, was sent to EU secretary general Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen on 5 December.
The blacklist, published on 5 December, includes 17 jurisdictions, none of which are located in the EU.
The lack of inclusion has been highly criticised by finance industry experts. Some Dubai wealth managers also questioned why countries like the US and Switzerland were left off the list, yet the UAE was included.
“Undermines” international efforts
Mnuchin says in the letter: “The US disagrees with the [EU] Council’s decision to subject non-EU jurisdictions to a separate review process and to release its own list of ‘non-cooperative jurisdictions’ for tax purposes.”
He says the US has taken this view due to the leading role it has played in the OECD inclusive framework called Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (Beps) and by being an original member of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.
“The Council’s review of jurisdictions is duplicative of the process undertaken by the G-20 and OECD to identify a comprehensive list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes and may undermine the international consensus on standards for a level playing field across jurisdictions.”
Guam and American Samoa
The letter says the US particularly objects to the inclusion of US territories American Samoa and Guam on the list.
“The commitments and actions of the United States in implementing Beps minimum standards extend to the US territories.
“Furthermore, the US territories are evaluated as part of the review of the United States in the Global Forum peer review process and under the criteria for non-cooperative tax jurisdictions established by the G-20.
“Therefore, American Samoa, Guam and other US territories are already subject to monitoring of the implementation of international tax standards.”
