Beyond an unequivocal stance on climate change, the recent G20 summit also devoted significant attention to the issue of “tax transparency”. The US is currently the only major financial centre not to sign up to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). The G20 communiqué threatens sanctions against countries not meeting the agreed international standards which include the full adoption of CRS.

Will the US give up its opaque stance (“Tax Haven USA”)? Will the OECD and the EU have the courage to blacklist the US if it fails to adopt CRS before 2018? The EU is now actively promoting the CRS as the standard it expects the US – and the rest of the world – to meet. We will watch with interest the EU blacklisting harmonisation process in the coming months.