Transfer pricing and double taxation are two of the topics covered in three bills to reform regulations which the Ministry of Finance has put to public consultation.
One of the proposals is the bill on "Informational declaration of transfer pricing".Crhoy.com explains that"...This empowers the tax authorities to check that transactions between related parties are valued at prices similar to those that would be agreed between independent parties in comparable transactions. "
In a seventh round of negotiations, an attempt will be made to lay the groundwork for an agreement that seeks to avoid damage to both countries.
If an agreement is not reached, Colombia will classify Panama as a tax haven, with a consequent increase in costs for bank transactions between the two countries, and exposing Columbia to the measures provided under Panama's Law of Retaliation.
Congress has passed the elimination of the provision that payments be made by natural and legal persons when they are shareholders in corporate groups.
According to the liberal congresswoman Gabriela Núñez "...
The Colombian government announced an understanding to negotiate a double taxation treaty according to OECD standards, allowing it to remove Panama from its list of tax havens.
A statement from the Ministry of Finance of Colombia:
The Cabinet Council is supporting a bill to approve an Agreement between the Republic of Panama and the Czech Republic for the avoidance of double taxation and to prevent tax evasion with respect to taxes on income and its protocol.
From a press release from the Presidency of Panama:
The aim is to provide the Tax Authority with access to taxpayers bank accounts in order to comply with parameters of the OECD.
Guatemalan ministers have agreed to changes to bill 4326 to amend the Tax Code and the Law on Banks and Financial Groups.
This initiative aims to facilitate access to information relating to taxpayers bank accounts by the Tax Authority (SAT). As it stands, the bill does not meet standards set by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in order for it to leave the gray list of tax havens.
In Costa Rica an agreement with the United Mexican States on the Exchange of Information in Tax Matters is in force.
From la Gaceta 101 of 25 May 2012:
PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF AGREEMENT
The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties will provide assistance through exchange of information that is foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of domestic law with respect to taxes or tariffs covered by this Agreement. The information will include such things as is foreseeably relevant to the determination, assessment and collection of such tax or tariffs, for the collection and enforcement of tax claims or investigation or prosecution of tax matters.
Adherence to the Multilateral Agreement involves sharing tax information with 23 countries, allowing advances to be made in international transparency policies and the fight against tax evasion.
A statement from the Finance Ministry reads:
COSTA RICA SIGNS INTERNATIONAL TAX COOPERATION CONVENTION WITH 23 COUNTRIES
• Efforts have earned the country’s removal from international list of tax havens
The French government has reported that Costa Rica will no longer appear in its list of states and territories who are non cooperative with regards to taxation.
A statement from the Presidency reads:
- Decision conducive to investment climate in the country.
- New information exchange agreements will be signed in the next few days
The Finance Minister of Costa Rica, Fernando Herrero, said Costa Rica was excluded from the list of tax havens drawn up by France in early 2010.
In January, the first Convention of Tax Information Exchange could be signed with Australia.
In order for this convention, and others are under negotiation, to be implemented, Congress needs to approve the banking secrecy law, which would allow access to accounts relating to tax matters, a requirement of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
If Panama does not efficiently and effectively provide the information required by foreign authorities, it will worsen the current perception of non-cooperation.
An analysis of this thorny issue made by Carlos Barsallo, president of the National Securities Commission, makes clear that since 1949, the adoption of Act 62 of 1938, Resolution 38 October 1949 and the reform of the Tax Code 1957 and subsequent regulations, have the clear purpose of turning Panama into an offshore financial services center (commonly known as a tax haven).
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