Panama joins OECD´s White List

Contributed by Icaza, Gonzalez-Ruiz & Aleman [http://www.icazalaw.com]

We are glad to inform you that Panama has now been included since July 6th, 2011, in the so called “White List” of countries that have implemented all standards for international taxation required by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

With this measure, Panama is now excluded from the OECD list of “tax heavens” in an effort that has taken almost two years to accomplish with the negotiation of at least eleven (11) Double Taxation Treaties (DTTs) and one Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with the United States of America.

The list of countries that have signed these DTTs is composed by the following: France, Spain, Barbados, South Korea, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar and Singapore.

OECD secretary general Angel Gurria expressed the following: “Panama has worked hard to achieve this milestone and has made remarkable strides toward complying with the international standards in a very short time."

The procedure for the exchange of financial information under the DTTs was very recently regulated, making it impossible to entertain any kind of fishing expeditions or requests that are not strictly compliant with the provisions of the treaty, ensuring that the confidentiality of the information is protected at all times.

Furthermore, the process of negotiating DTTs has not reached an impasse with the required twelve set by the OECD, as Panama will continue to enter into such agreements, consolidating our country as a worldwide fiduciary and investment destination and ensuring such benefits to our clients utilizing Panamanian corporations.

Panama is actually the leading Latin American economy. In 2010, the country led the region in foreign direct investment, as a percent of GDP, with investments exceeding US$ 2.3 Billion. In the first quarter of 2011 alone, Panama´s economy grew 9.7% from the previous year. It was ranked the 2nd most competitive economy in Latin America by the World Economic Forum´s Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011, and the International Monetary Fund projects that Panama will become the fastest-growing economy in Latin America and the Caribbean by 2015.

We are sure that the measures that Panama has taken regarding this matter will be of benefit to our clientele that has been using the Panamanian corporations during all these years and will keep on using them in the future.

Author: Mariano Oteiza Jr.

Aquilino de la Guardia Street No. 8
IGRA Building, P.O. BOX 0823-02435
Panama, Republic of Panama
Tel: +507 205-6000
Fax: +507 269-4891
Email: igranet@icazalaw.com
Web: www.icazalaw.com

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