PANAMA’S MINISTRY  of Economy and Finance (MEF) is working on a bill that could earn jail terms for those convicted of tax fraud. But fiscal experts  warn it needs controls to avoid becoming a tool for political persecution

At the moment it is an administrative fault that does not lead to imprisonment.

Tax consultant Osvaldo Lau said that "it is necessary to strengthen the control and sanctions as far as the taxes, in general, are concerned. The problem that if the power is centralized in an official appointed by the Executive it can become a political weapon. "

In an attempt to limit the arbitrariness of an official, in the scheme that is being considered for Panama, it could require the analysis of the Tax Administrative Court to decide if the case deserves to be sent to the Public Ministry.

Rubén Bustamante, a tax law expert, said that prosecutors, lawyers, judges and the population, have advocated the creation of a specific criminal court for cases of tax fraud.

Tax lawyer José Javier Rivera warned of the need to train professionals and recalled that "in a democracy as weak as this, without having  been  constituted as a crime, it has already been used to try to intimidate people.” Reports La Prensa.

Finance Minister, Dulcidio De La Guardia, told La Prensa that hat "there will be people who are not satisfied and will say this  is persecution. when there are obvious actions against the patrimony of the State. He said  it must be taken into account that "Panama is the only country in Latin America which does not consider tax fraud as a crime along with  money laundering.”

The minister pointed out that tax fraud would be considered an offense, if there is the intention of deliberate evasion of taxes. Debts  with the treasury cannot be punished with prison penalties of prison, according to the Constitution. The threshold has not yet been defined ,for  a minimum amount of money evaded, to  be considered an offense.