Government ready to back away from controversial property evaluations

PANAMA’s government seem to be ready to temporarily back away from property re-evaluations which have riled residents and government supporters in some key areas of Panama City.

 The Ministry of Economy and Finance ( MEF) has drafted a document , signed by Finance Minister Frank De Lima, setting out the legal authority to suspend the proceedings and registration of new property values that emerged after the valuations applied in various sectors of the capital.

Some properties have not been assessed for decades.
Despite the signature the document is a draft because it carried neither the resolution number nor date of execution.
The draft was circulated among several representatives of business associations as a preview of what will be the suspension of valuations , supposedly scheduled for next week.
On Friday afternoon , MEF Communications said through a press release, that the entity agrees to freeze revaluations, but said that the process will remain in effect in the beach areas of the province of Panama .
The proposed new scheme , according to the MEF , is effective until the Chamber of Commerce , Industries and Agriculture of Panama present a proposal regarding land policy .
Many questions arose before the release of the document and the MEF , including how taxpayers who have already completed the payment of property tax assessed on the new appraisal will be compensated.

Business goups epresentatives meeting on Friday afternoon at the Chamber of Commerce , said the Director of Public Property MEF , Ricardo Solis, announced that the measure is temporary , which is why they are worried .
Attorney Adolfo Linares insisted that the suspension of the cadastral revaluation does not mean an amendment to the Tax Code . " hat means it could be reactivated at any time," he said .

For now , employers will request that De Lima -de – France travel suspension of the revaluation on the beaches , because it will make using the commercial value.