IMF chief: regulators long 'alarmed' over Panama's handling of taxation
Source: The Guardian
Saturday 16 April 2016 20.52 BST
Christine Lagarde responds to Panama Papers revelations, noting that authorities were concerned but did not take ‘expected’ action
The head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Saturday the world’s financial regulators had long been “alarmed” about Panama’s lax approach to taxation and corruption but failed to take action.
In her strongest comments yet addressing the global tax evasion scandal exposed by the Panama Papers, Christine Lagarde said: “In the case of Panama there had been alert and alarm raised, but there had not been the level of implementation that was expected.”
Lagarde said the international community needed to do much more to fight tax evasion and corruption and must take action rather than just issue reports warning about the activities of tax havens like Panama.
Speaking at the IMF’s spring meetings in Washington, she said: “I think all of us, we need to think outside the box and see how the mechanisms and the flow of assessment can flow through with implementation and consequences in case of failure to implement (changes to comply with international tax and transparency standards).
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/16/panama-papers-taxes-christine-lagarde-imf-response
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