Property Tax moratorium rejected
- By : Panama Now
- Category : Financials
Financials
The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) rejects the amendments proposed by the National Assembly of Deputies to extend the moratorium decreed to property tax contained in law 66 of 2017 to other taxes that bear no relation to this tax.
In this way, we intend to extend the moratorium to obligations related to income tax, ITBMS and obligations to pay Social Security contributions.
The proposed amendment, which is in the second debate, is inappropriate since it distorts the intention to extend for a prudential period the moratorium on property tax established in Article 15 of Law 66 with its respective tax benefits.
The modifications do not contemplate the negative impact that the measure would have on the tax collections, the finances of the State and of the Social Security Fund. In addition, with this proposal a negative message is sent to taxpayers who responsibly comply with their tax obligations.
It should be noted that the MEF supports the extension of the property tax moratorium for a reasonable period, until October 2018, so that the largest number of Panamanians can benefit from the tax benefits of the measure, while updating the information of their properties before the respective instances.
Therefore, the MEF considers that the proposal as it stands is irresponsible and calls on the honorable Members to hold a sensible discussion on this issue of fundamental importance.
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