Panama (AFP)
The Minister of Action and Public Accounts Gerald Darmanin is visiting Monday in Panama to improve cooperation on financial transparency with this country, considered by Paris as a tax haven, announced the minister.
"For France and the European Union, international financial transparency is a fundamental requirement," Darmanin said on Twitter.
Mr. Darmanin's exchanges with members of the Panamanian government and representatives of the judicial and fiscal authorities "will focus on improving cooperation between France and Panama in tax matters," according to a statement from the French Ministry.
"The goal of the French government is to find solutions to effectively fight against tax fraud and tax evasion, which harm our economies," the statement added.
France had withdrawn Panama in 2012 from its list of tax havens after signing an agreement with the Panamanian authorities, but blacklisted after the Panama Papers scandal in 2016.
France and Panama have double taxation agreements, but France is not satisfied with the exchange of tax information with that country.
Panama has in recent years adopted reforms of its financial system to bring it into line with international standards. Since 2017, it has been conducting financial information exchanges according to OECD standards.
These reforms allowed him to leave the list of tax havens of the European Union and the OECD. However, the International Financial Action Group (FATF) has reinstated it in its gray list of countries that do not collaborate sufficiently against money laundering and terrorist financing.
© 2019 AFP