After the European powers threatened to make a raid on tax havens, Panama agreed to join the global standards of tax reporting.
Secretary of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Angel Gurria, said that Panama agrees to comply with international standards, in spite of the differences which have arisen in the press, which emphasized Panama’s refusal to cooperate in international efforts to curb tax evasion.
“We have just received information that a few minutes ago Panama gave publicity that they will join the common accounting standards,” he said at a press conference during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington Gurria.
“If this is so, then it’s really good news, and we welcome this step. It is the silver lining of this incident” said Gurria.
Adherence to the common accounting standards will come into force next year.
“Panama’s path to financial transparency is irreversible,” said the Vice-President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Panama Isabel de Saint Malo. “To this end we willingly and actively support the diplomatic dialogue and internal reforms to address this global problem.”