Easter Holiday Death
Toll Rises To 272 in Central America
Panama
Holds Out Against Campaign To End Banking Secrecy
Poisoned Food Sickens 33 Belgians in
Nicaragua
Fireworks Injure 10 at Church in Nicaragua
Panama Holds Out
Against Campaign To End Banking Secrecy
Faced with the growing hostility of
politicians, some tax havens quickly
crumbled under the pressure.
But while countries such as Switzerland have
bowed to demands to end the era of “no
questions asked-banking”, Panama is digging
in its heels and touting for business as one
of the few places where money can still be
safely stowed away.
Leading tax advisers report that lawyers
from the republic — which has so far failed
to make good on promises of greater
transparency — have been e-mailing them to
highlight its credentials as one of the last
remaining tax havens.
The Group of 20 industrialized and
developing nations agreed this month to end
“an era of banking secrecy” by unearthing
billions of pounds thought to be hidden from
tax authorities in offshore banks.
Panama was among the countries singled out
as an offender — despite the fact that it
committed itself to the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
in 2002 to improve the transparency of its
system and to establish an effective
exchange of information. But such e-mails
would seem to undermine Gordon Brown's
declaration that it is “the beginning of the
end of tax havens.”
Mike Warburton, senior tax partner at Grant
Thornton, said that they would prompt
concern that individuals intent on evading
tax might simply move their money.
“People intent on illegally evading their
taxes will move their money to places
prepared to take it,” he said.
The OECD identified Panama as meeting the
technical criteria for being a tax haven in
June 2000.
The country came under the spotlight last
year as the location chosen by John Darwin,
the canoeist who faked his own death, to
salt away assets totalling £500,000
including an apartment in Panama City and an
expanse of rainforest in Escobal that he
hoped to turn into an eco-tourism resort.
At the G20 summit politicians threatened to
take action against “non-co-operative
jurisdictions”.
The OECD has been asked to investigate and
report back by November when finance
ministers meet in Scotland.
Pressure on tax havens
- About $11.5 trillion is held in havens,
according to the Tax Justice Network
- The OECD says its crackdown is bearing
fruit. Ireland recently took $1 billion that
would otherwise have escaped the taxman's
net
- Seven UK overseas territories including
Anguilla, Bermuda and the British Virgin
Islands stay on an OECD “grey list” for
falling short on information-sharing
agreements
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