Tax evasion: pressure mounts on Panama

PRESSURE is still on Panama to strengthen the transparency of its financial and legal systems as France and Germany issue action plans to fight against tax evasion.

France returned Panama to its list of states and territories not cooperating with tax inquiries and asked the country to share all financial information related to French taxpayers.

In addition, it has sought to renegotiate the current tax agreement between the while , the Ministry of Finance of Germany also sought Panama’s cooperation.

“Panama needs to join the system of automatic exchange of information as quickly as possible,” it said.

In addition, it calls on the country make adjustments to make it easier to find out the owners of Panama companies.

“Shareholders or managers should be required to provide regular reports of the economic activities that their companies engage in. We require complete transparency,” it said.

The German government warned that: “if Panama does not cooperate quickly, we will promote the idea that certain financial activities that are carried out in Panama should be scorned internationally.”

France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom and Italy, Europe’s five largest economies, called on the G-20 to create a blacklist of tax havens, and sanction countries that do not cooperate in the fight against tax evasion.

“We want lists that allow the implementation of sanctions against countries that do not respect the rules,” French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said.

On Thursday, April 15 Panama announced that it would adhere to standards created by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).  Panama had rejected signing that agreement, most notably because the United States has refused to do so. But revelations in documents leaked from the Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca pushed Panama to to agree to the OECD demands.