France to urge OECD to put Panama on tax haven list

France on Wednesday urged the OECD to place Panama on its "blacklist" of tax havens following the so-called Panama Papers scandal.

"I want the OECD to meet so that the same decision (as France) is taken by all the countries concerned," French Finance Minister Michel Sapin told Europe 1 radio.

Sapin had told parliament on Tuesday that France would put Panama back on its list of "uncooperative countries."

"Unfortunately Panama has a bit of a tendency to make u-turns, to play the good guy and then the bad guy. This cannot go on," Sapin said.

He said France "must not be alone" in putting the Central American nation back on a "tax haven" list. "It has to be a general move."

Panama's government threatened Tuesday that it could hit back if France took the step, by taking measures including blocking foreign investment or withholding public tenders.
Source: AFP