Tax Haven Panama

About Tax Haven Panama

Panama has been a tax haven since it began registering ships in 1919. The Panama Canal made Panama a natural hub for international business. Panama incorporated more than 400,000 offshore entities. The Panama Papers leak in 2016 revealed how Mossack Fonseca used Panamanian entities for tax evasion and money laundering. Panama was placed on the FATF grey list in 2019 for insufficient anti money laundering controls and removed in 2023 after reforms. Panama has no exchange controls and uses the US dollar as currency. The country has been criticized for its lax corporate transparency. While Panama has made progress on international cooperation, it remains a key node in the global offshore system, alongside the British Virgin Islands, Belize, and the Seychelles.