Netherlands Has Panama On ‘Blacklist’; Its Companies Will Not be Able to Participate in Tenders

The President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, rejected the inclusion of Panama in the Dutch tax blacklist, pointing out that the decision is unfair and that it is based on criteria that concern the fiscal policies of the European country, without any basis in Panamanian legislation.  “I strongly reject the inclusion of Panama in the Netherlands’ blacklist for tax issues that concern its jurisdiction and not ours,” the president said on his X account (formerly Twitter).  Mulino said he had instructed the Panamanian Foreign Ministry to formally lodge a diplomatic protest. He also indicated that, as a result of this decision, Dutch companies will not be able to participate in tenders, public events or contracts with the Panamanian government, thus limiting their access to the local market.

At the international level, the Panamanian government will also evaluate its position in votes and decisions of international organizations in which it participates alongside the Netherlands. On Tuesday, October 29, Panama was included in the “black list” of “low-tax” and non-cooperative jurisdictions compiled by the Ministry of Finance of the Netherlands. This is a list of countries “without a statutory profit tax and jurisdictions with a statutory profit tax rate below 9%,” according to the mondaq.com website. That is, jurisdictions that may be involved in “abusive tax structures,” says dlapiper.com.