The publication of Decree No. 130, on the procedures for the application of property tax (IBI), provoked various reactions in the Panamanian population; there is confusion about the subject and lack of knowledge in matter of taxes. In order to contribute to the debate involving the current tax structure, the distribution of wealth, territorial property, fiscal policy as a redistributive instrument and the decentralization of public administration, we compared the first rules issued on this tax with the most recent and with the decentralization process, highlighting the close relationship between these legal provisions. The data show the low collection of the IBI with respect to the current and tributary revenues of the Central Government. This dynamic is compared with the result of studies that have been carried out by international organizations on the subject. We conclude that analyzing the subject of property tax is insufficient to understand the dynamics of tax aspects, which should be considered with equality criteria, favoring the majority of the population. The reforms introduced to the Tax Code in relation to the IBI, since the beginning of the Republic, have not had significant effects on its collection, nor improvements in its management. The treatment provided to the tax system in general favors social and economic inequality among sectors of Panamanian society and generates greater tax inequality. The reforms that are debated on the IBI are closely related to this statement; its increase is sought to comply with the financing of the decentralization process of the public administration without integrating it into a broader analysis.