Escaping The US

IRS agents are the last people I want to see in Panama, sipping my pipas (coconut water) on the beach. I had heard they were setting up an office in Panama City, so I guess they knew all along something big was coming. What a way to ruin a party! Here’s the news:

Under threat of being blacklisted by the OED, and eternally stuck on their “Tax Haven” list, Panama has capitulated on their banking privacy laws and agreed to share banking information, on request, with the IRS.

The U.S. has already signed the agreement, but the Panama legislature must ratify it as well. The current language will allow the IRS to request banking records as far back as three years prior.

So there you go.

If you’re interested, here’s the full text of the agreement in English.

My thoughts? Well, I could always use that asinine line, “if you don’t have anything to hide, then you don’t have anything to worry about,” but I usually avoid being an ass when I can.

The truth is, we humans desire privacy because it is an instinctive right. Keeping personal things private also protects us from those who would seek to exploit us with the knowledge as well. As someone who strives to be IRS-compliant, I still don’t want my private life an open book to 120,000 people in the IRS and thousands others who have access, too.

Whatever the case, I imagine a few shady people in Panama currently looking for a new place to stash their money, and I also imagine a few legitimate, 100% compliant ex-pats will be joining them.

For further reading on this issue, I recommend The Sovereign Society’s Bob Bauman’s blog: http://bauman.sovereignsociety.com/2010/12/03/why-did-panama-do-it/

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