News

The government of Panama continues to struggle to eliminate the image of Panama as a tax haven, despite years of reforms.

French ambassador Pilar Arosemena de Aleman will meet with international officials in France next week to make the claim that Panama has made the necessary changes to be removed from the French tax haven list, La Prensa reports. Panama is arguing that it is already meeting the standards for transparency and open sharing of tax information.

The meeting in France “will be the beginning of a series of meetings” which will set a “roadmap” for Panama to be officially removed from the tax haven list, the paper reports.

Panama has been making large strides in changing the international perception, but it has been a tough fight. The effort went backward last year with the release of the so-called Panama Papers–account information leaked from a law firm. Which detailed transactions from around the world. France had taken Panama off its tax haven list in 2012, but added it again after the release of the Panama Papers.

On one level, the tax haven status is a formality that doesn’t impact most investors. But countries can treat companies and individuals differently for financial dealings in a country designated as a tax haven.

In October, Panama signed on to a multilateral deal organized by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), joining more than 100 countries in agreeing to share foreign taxpayer details with other governments. Panama’s agreement to follow the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters was “confirmation of its commitment to take the necessary steps to meet international expectations in the fight against tax evasion,” OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said in a statement at the time.