Panama: Selected Issues
IMF Staff Country Reports, April 21, 2020
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- Panama: Selected Issues
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Bibliographic details
- Published: April 21, 2020
- Series: IMF Staff Country Reports
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9781513541679.002
Summary and strategic context
- Panama stands at a crossroad between taking the leap to become an advanced economy or getting stuck in the middle-income trap.
- The beginning of a new administration provides a window of opportunity to initiate and implement ambitious reforms.
- This Selected Issues paper takes stock of fiscal issues in Panama and proposes policy options.
Key fiscal findings and priorities
- The new administration’s fiscal agenda should feature a comprehensive reform of tax and customs administrations.
- The fiscal agenda should include a review of tax incentives and exemptions and consider steps toward a broader tax policy reform.
- Efforts to further strengthen the fiscal framework with the appointment of the members of the Fiscal Council should continue going forward.
- Panama should adopt best practice fiscal accounting and reporting methods.
- A comprehensive assessment and management of fiscal risks is necessary to create buffers and safeguard public finances given fiscal policy’s exclusive stabilization role.
Policy recommendations (enumerated)
- Comprehensive reform of tax administration.
- Comprehensive reform of customs administration.
- Review of tax incentives and exemptions.
- Consideration of broader tax policy reform.
- Appointment and continued strengthening of the Fiscal Council membership.
- Adoption of best practice fiscal accounting and reporting.
- Comprehensive assessment and management of fiscal risks to build buffers and safeguard public finances.
Thematic coverage (subjects and keywords as listed)
- Subjects: Anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), Crime, Financial institutions, Fiscal policy, Housing prices, Mortgages, Prices, Real estate prices, Revenue administration
- Keywords include: academia Panamá para el Futuro, Anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), bank, bank resolution framework, Caribbean, Central America, CFT cross-agency cooperation, CFT regime, CFT statistics, CR, Europe, Global, government, Housing prices, innovation Panama, ISCR, labor productivity growth, lending, Mortgages, Panama, property price, Real estate prices, regime
Content in this bundle
- Panama: Selected Issues; IMF Country Report No. 20/125; March 9, 2020