To launch negotiations on bilateral agreement
May 20, 2016: The Republic of Panama will host an official delegation from Japan visiting Panama City as both countries begin negotiations to establish a bilateral Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) on Friday, May 20, 2016. The announcement follows a visit last month to Japan by Panama’s President Juan Carlos Varela, during which the two countries agreed to cooperate on an agreement of automatic exchange of information.
“Panama reiterates our full commitment to global financial transparency and we look forward to launching negotiations with our Japanese counterparts,” said Panama’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luis Miguel Hincapie. “We will continue to negotiate additional bilateral agreements in accordance with the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard, including with countries such as Singapore and Germany, which expand on existing commitments of a similar nature with other relevant partners.”
Representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs and finance of Japan will arrive in Panama to discuss with a delegation from Panama led by Farah Urrutia, Director General of Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the framework for a bilateral agreement based on the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) of the Global Forum of the OECD.
The Japanese delegation will be led by Osamu Kawanishi, Director for Tax Treaties and International Affairs of Tax Bureau (Minsitry of Finance), and Ken Hashiba, Director, Mexico, Central America and Caribbean Division Latin American and Caribbean Affairs Bureau (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).Other members joining the delegation will be Kaoru Matsumura and Takeshi Ogawa, from the Ministry of Finance, Ko Takahashi and Yuki Araki, from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Keiko Fukuchi and Hisakazu Ikegami, from the Japanese National Tax Agency.
The negotiations are a continuation of the many steps that have been taken by the Government of Panama during the twenty-two months of the Varela administration to ensure fulfillment of their international responsibilities regarding financial transparency, including the implementation of enhanced and extended “know your client” regulations and the requirement of identity certification of shareholders of all Panama companies.