European Union states have added 10 jurisdictions to a draft tax haven blacklist, including the United Arab Emirates and Bermuda, an EU official told Reuters Tuesday, in a move that would triple the number of listed countries.

The measure comes more than one year after the bloc decided to blacklist jurisdictions that are non-cooperative on tax matters and to monitor countries that commit to change their tax rules to comply with EU standards.

In a meeting Wednesday, EU envoys are set to agree on the new list which will then be formally adopted by EU finance ministers in a meeting on March 12.

The existing list includes only five jurisdictions: Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago and the three United States’ territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands.

The new draft list has been broadened to 15 jurisdictions, including the UAE, Oman, the British territory of Bermuda, and other Caribbean and Pacific islands, the official said.

However, EU states are still considering whether Bermuda and the UAE will be added, the official said.

Source: Reuters