Panama Tax Compliance
Table of Contents
About Tax Compliance Laws
Law 70 of 31st January, 2019, made tax evasion in Panama criminalized as punishable.
It sanctioning those who fiscally defraud the National Treasury of the Republic of Panama; and establishes for them the penalty of imprisonment for a term of two (2) to four (4) years.
When the tax evasion is less than US$ 300,000.00, it will be an administrative sanction by the tax authority; while in case of being superior to US $ 300,000.00, it would be a criminal action.
Likewise, the law applies the same penalty of two (2) to four (4) years of imprisonment to those who fraudulently obtain a tax exemption or refund; or improperly enjoy tax benefits.
In this case, the severity of the sanction is also based on the amount of the offense, since if it exceeds three hundred thousand dollars (US $ 300,000.00) during the fiscal period, the unlawful conduct will be the jurisdiction of the criminal sphere; while in case the amount is lower than three hundred thousand dollars (US $ 300,000.00), the unlawful conduct will be aired before the competent authority.
On the other hand, the aforementioned law also sanctions those who knowing that any type of property has been obtained after having committed an offense against the National Treasury, and executes actions to conceal their illicit origin, or assists the evader to avoid the consequences of the punishable act, will be punished with imprisonment of two (2) to four (4) years.
Avoid Sanctions
Some conducts and actions that you must avoid:
- Communicate false data to obtain refunds or ignore payments to the corresponding tax authority.
- Ignore keeping the mandatory accounting records or posting false data in such systems or records.
- Declare non-existent fiscal losses.
