Japan Agrees Tax Information Exchange With Panama

Japan and Panama have agreed the provisions of a bilateral tax information exchange agreement (TIEA), subject to further work on finalizing its text.

Negotiation of the TIEA was initiated following the Japan-Panama Summit Meeting held on April 20 between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Panama’s President, Juan Carlos Varela.

The two leaders shared the view that Japan and Panama should immediately begin official discussions on the agreement. It is now likely that Japan will be the first country to sign a TIEA with Panama since the leak of the “Panama Papers” earlier this year.

The agreement will include rules consistent with the Common Reporting Standard, the new standards for the automatic exchange of tax information between countries developed by the OECD and being adopted globally from next year.

A statement from the Japanese Ministry of Finance confirmed that “the Government of Japan is determined to contribute to the strengthening of the information exchange network aimed at the prevention of international tax evasion and tax abuse by concluding this agreement as early as possible.”