The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has included in the blacklist 21 jurisdictions that offer “golden passports” or visa solutions. The OECD states that these specific schemes threaten international efforts to fight tax evasion.
In the report published by the Paris think tank, among the listed jurisdictions are Malta, Monaco and Cyprus, with high-risk operational schemes of residency or citizenship.
The Paris-based entity has launched the alarm on the rapid expansion of the citizenship industry through investments, at present worth £ 2.3 billion, which has turned nationality into a marketable commodity.
Cyprus, for example, offers two types of schemes: citizenship through investments and naturalization of investors through residence and investment.
The 21 jurisdictions concerned offer wealthy individuals access to low-income personal taxes on the profits deriving from foreign activities, but do not require them to spend a significant amount of time in the jurisdiction offering the scheme, thus representing a potential risk to integrity of the CRS “.
In a shared report, Transparency International and Global Witness they stated that the practice of issuing “golden visas” is not limited to only 21 countries, as United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal are among those that benefited most from the sale of residences in Europe.
