The National Assembly approved on third and final debate the bill 363 by which the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) Panama-US is ratified. to run the American Law foreign account tax compliance (FATCA).
The ratification of the agreement was essential for Panama in September 2017 made its first report under the FATCA, as noted by the Panamanian government.
The agreement ensures the confidentiality of the information exchanged between Panama and the United States, and approval may cause other agreements to exchange tax information with other states as a form of international cooperation, he reported the AN in a statement.
Maltide independent deputy Ana Gomez acknowledged that the approval “can bring mixed emotions” because it seems the country as a US tax police, but “Panama and its financial center need to maintain good relations with the US and to strengthen our image, “he said, according to the NA.
The IGA, which has been signed by 80 countries and is traded for 20 more, is the first agreement of automatic exchange of tax and tax information tabled in Parliament Panama, reported before the Panamanian Foreign Ministry.
The FACTA law, which was implemented in the US in January 2014, it aims to control tax evasion residents of that country with investments outside US territory.
The FATCA has extraterritorial effects by requiring all financial institutions in the world to report US customers or with ties to the US the Internal Revenue Service that country (IRS), to assist with the collection and tax compliance of that nation, explained the Panamanian Foreign Ministry.
The agreement with Panama, which was negotiated under the previous government, was ratified on April 27 last by the Panamanian Minister of Economy and Finance, Dulcidio Guard, and the US ambassador to Panama, John Feeley.