Vienna - Austria is no longer grouped with countries that do not implement international tax standards, according to the so-called "grey list" updated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday. The government was in a hurry to be removed from the list before the summit of Group of 20 (G20) major advanced and emerging economies in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Friday.
The G20 agreed to clamp down on tax havens at summits last November and April.
The move by the Paris-based OECD came after Austria signed agreements with 12 countries by last Thursday on double taxation or exchange of information, which are aimed at fighting tax evaders.
The remaining European countries on the updated list of tax havens or not sufficiently cooperating states are Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Switzerland.
It was not immediately clear why Monaco was still named as a tax haven, as the small state had announced last Friday that it had also fulfilled the OECD's requirement by signing 12 bilateral agreements.
