EU says claims bloc targeting NZ over tax 'incorrect and misleading'

Wednesday 3rd August 2016

The European Union's representatives to New Zealand say reports that the regional economic bloc is targeting the nation as a tax haven as "incorrect and misleading".

Their comments follow media reports on Monday that the 28-nation EU was preparing to take action against New Zealand following the publication of the Panama Papers, which showed foreign trusts were being marketed to wealthy individuals by the law firm Mossack Fonseca. A review by the former New Zealand chair of PWC, John Shewan, found the disclosure rules around such trusts were inadequate and probably allowed illegal activities to go undetected. However, Shewan also concluded that there was no direct evidence of illicit funds being hidden or tax abuse.

In a statement, the Delegation of the European Union to New Zealand said the economic bloc was currently assessing all non-EU countries with regard to good governance standards on taxation policies. "This assessment is not specific to New Zealand, nor has New Zealand been singled out in any way in this assessment."

In background information published alongside the statement, the delegation said the assessments began three months before the Panama Papers were published by an international team of journalists who cooperated on the inquiry. The pre-analysis phase of the inquiry is scheduled to complete in September.

Acting Prime Minister Gerry Brownlee told the Paul Henry programme on Tuesday that the government had no information on the potential investigation, with no official correspondence on the matter and no indication NZ is under investigation.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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