Programmatic Shared Prosperity Development Policy Financing Project

Start & End Date: 2018-Ongoing

Country/Countries: Panama

Multilateral Institution(s) Involved: World Bank

Case Study: Available

Since the Panama papers affair, Panama is known to lack tax transparency, the tracking of tax evasion and criminalisation of money laundering. Therefore, Panama was included in the new EU list of third countries with strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks. Panama was also added to the EU list of Non-Cooperative Tax Jurisdictions.

The development objectives of the Third Programmatic Shared Prosperity Development Policy Financing Project for Panama are to support the government of Panama’s efforts to: (i) strengthen the frameworks for international tax transparency, financial integrity, and fiscal management; (ii) strengthen institutional arrangements to support social assistance and education; and (iii) enhance the regulatory and sustainability framework in the energy and water sectors. These three pillars complement and reinforce each other. First, a stronger framework for international tax transparency and financial integrity will improve investor confidence and support economic growth, while the strengthening of fiscal management will help ensure fiscal sustainability. Second, improved transparency and better targeting of social protection systems will help direct resources to those that need them the most, while improved quality of education will contribute to advancing opportunities, particularly for vulnerable youth, and supporting the competitiveness agenda to boost long-term productivity growth. Finally, an enhanced regulatory and sustainability framework for energy will help increase the fiscal space needed to safeguard social assistance and education programs and heling to meet global commitments on climate change The DPF series is fully aligned with the government’s Economic and Social Strategy 2015-2019.

As result of the project, Panama began the automatic exchange of information on financial accounts in September 2018 based on the Common Reporting Standards for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters (CRS).