Tax evasion classified as a crime in Panama

By means of Law 70 of 31^st January, 2019, tax evasion in the Republic of Panama has been criminalized as punishable.

The typification of the crime focuses on 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.

The law establishes different sanctions for this punishable conduct, based on the evaded amount, since in the event that it is less than three hundred thousand dollars (US$ 300,000.00), the crime will be responsibility of the tax authority; while in case of being superior to three hundred thousand dollars (US $ 300,000.00), it would be of competence of the penal sphere.

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.

In the event that a legal entity is used in any of the aforementioned illicit acts, it will be sanctioned with a fine that will not be less than the amount of the defrauded tax.

Finally, the law grants the indicted with the possibility of being exempted from the imprisonment penalty, if an unconditional payment of the total amount of defrauded tax is made before the judgment in first instance.