THE   MINISTRY of Economy and Finance (MEF) has approved A $1.3 million contract with the multinational firm Ernst & Young to advise on tax matters.

According to data published on Panamacompra, the consulting contract includes assistance in the negotiating of tax conventions and international tax policy.

Among specific topics included in the contract are advice in the negotiation of agreements to avoid double taxation, information exchange agreements and standards of automatic exchange of financial information. It also covers assistance in the peer review being done by the Global Forum.

"This contract supports the efforts of the government of Panama so that our jurisdiction can be seen by the international community as a jurisdiction that adopts the principles of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes and thus should be included in the list of cooperating countries," said supporting documents signed by Revenue Director Publius Cortes and Deputy Minister of Finance Jorge Dawson, reports La Prensa.

"It is very beneficial for Panama to be considered as a cooperating jurisdiction since it is associated with the exclusion of discriminatory lists with tax and economic effects that affect the financial services in the country," added the document.

Founded in 1849, Ernst & Young has 212,000 employees in 700 offices in 150 countries.

Last week, Panama agreed with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on  the necessary technical assistance for the implementation of new laws and technology systems for the automatic exchange of information.