Panama May Sign Tax Accords to Avoid
Sanctions, Official Says
By Eric Sabo
(Bloomberg) -- Panama will share tax
information with at least 10 countries to
prevent sanctions over banking secrecy laws,
Finance Vice-Minister Frank De Lima said.
The Central American nation is close to
signing accords with Spain and Mexico to
exchange information, De Lima said in an
interview. Switzerland, Belgium and Canada
are also interested in signing similar
treaties, he added.
The effort is a “clear sign that Panama will
move forward” with other countries, De Lima
said. “This should be enough to avoid
sanctions.”
The Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development in April placed Panama on a
list of nations that must share tax data or
face sanctions as Group of 20 nations crack
down on banking secrecy.
Switzerland, Hong Kong, Singapore and
Luxembourg are among countries that have
agreed to provide more information on their
tax systems to satisfy OECD standards.
Jeffrey Owens, the director of the OECD’s
tax policy, said the organization will
review Panama’s new agreements before making
a decision on whether the Central American
country is making progress against tax
cheats.
“Quite frankly, Panama has done very little
until now,” Owens said in a telephone
interview today. |
