1. Offshore Income (non-local-sourced income) is not taxed and does not need to be reported (no need to bother about filing tax returns). You can have a Panama Corporation, and/or Foundation with its bank or brokerage accounts in Panama, with a real or virtual office in Panama, and it will not pay any Panama taxes if all the income is derived from offshore.
2. Bearer shares are still allowed in Panama. Most jurisdictions have eliminated true bearer share corporations, by requiring that bearer shares be held by a licensed agent’s office, or in a bank’s safe custody. Real Bearer Shares like those we have in Panama can be made out in blank or made out to another corporation or foundation. The share certificates can be kept anywhere in the world, as can the books and records. They are referred to as an S.A. Corporation (that means in Spanish Sociedad Anonima or Anonymous Company) having this designation after the corporate name. This means the ownership of the Corporation is not recorded anywhere. The only people on public files are the directors (who may be professional directors provided by our law firm). The owner has the stock certificates of the company, which can be transferred privately as often as needed with no reportage of the new owners. When you think about it ownership could be transferred 10 times in a day. When you send an international bank wire using the S.A. Corporation no one monitoring the international wires as some countries do, knows who the actual owners of the corporation are that are receiving the funds. If ownership of a corporation is publicly recorded rest assured it is in numerous databases and can be accessed in seconds to determine who is actually receiving money sent to a corporation.
3. Panama uses the US Dollar as its currency. This saves on currency exchange costs. In Panama the ATM machines pay out in US $20 bills. Even American coins are used in Panama.
4. Panama is politically stable. It is a neutral country. Panama controls the Panama Canal and does not have a standing army. Panama holds free elections as a democracy. Panama cares about their people. Medical care is affordable, food is cheap, housing affordable with special projects for the working folks to own their homes, homeless people are absent, college is made affordable and many young people attend. Panama has two medical schools, two dental schools, two law schools etc. You can feel safe and secure in Panama.
5. Panama is a true global financial center. In Panama 15%-20% of the work force is employed by the 135 banks domiciled here. Since Panama values these jobs, do not expect to see any major changes in banking laws that could threaten Panama’s financial services industry. Panama has over 400,000 corporations on the public register. Panama has little interest in pursuing fiscal crimes. Income tax violations in Panama are civil offenses only. Panama also serves as a leading maritime registry for ocean going vessels.
6. Panama banks conduct real day-to-day transactions with citizens of Panama as well as citizens and companies located outside of Panama. The banks we recommend have real branches with tellers, drive through windows, ATM machines etc. Compare this to many offshore jurisdictions where there are “Offshore Banking Licenses.” These licenses permit the bank to only open accounts for people who are not citizens of the country. Sort of makes you feel scared or it should. These offshore banks can’t do business with residents of the country they are located in!
7. Panama banks have their own domestic money transfer system (ACH), which allows for online transfers from one Panama bank to another at a cost of about $1.00 per transaction. These transfers do not go over the international wire systems clearing in the USA, nor do they go over the SWIFT network, which is commonly used by many offshore banks, and which has been subject to subpoenas by the US government. This transfer system therefore offers a very private way of transferring dollars from one party to another. Panama banks also allow deposit of checks drawn in US dollars and other major currencies from anywhere in the world. Many offshore banks will not take checks any more or if they do, they put long holds on them like ninety days.
8. Panama City is like a first world city. You can drink the tap water, there are American style electrical systems, you can use American appliances in Panama, there are good paved roads, there is really excellent Internet, and it is only 2.5 hours from Miami, Florida. Panama is a remarkably crime free country – New York City has more violent crime in one day than Panama has in a year. English is a main business language in Panama, and is always spoken by people working in Panama Banks and the better Hotels, Restaurants, Law Firms and by the Doctors.
9. You do not have to travel to Panama to get a corporation, foundation or bank account in Panama. We can arrange accounts over the internet (you will need to send one courier package with the original signed and certified documents) for first class privacy and asset protection.
10. Tax Treaties – Panama has no tax treaties of any sort with any country. None means none.
11. Collection of Foreign Judgment Treaties – Panama is in none of these treaties with any country. No foreign judgment from any other country has any validity in Panama. Foreign judgments cannot be domesticated or brought into Panama Courts for collection. Spousal Support, Alimony, Child Support – Panama has no reciprocity or treaties calling for the collection of these matters if the order or judgment was issued by a court in a foreign country. There is no civil reciprocity in Panama with other countries.
12. Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT). Essentially Panama will cooperate in a multi-national case involving narcotics and money laundering (these crimes need to be tied to narcotics). If you are not a narcotics dealer and are not a money launderer you should not be concerned by this. Panama will also cooperate in cases of terrorism and child pornography. The MLAT requires that there first needs to be a criminal prosecution case on file in the criminal courts of the requesting government (which means no fishing expeditions). Then through diplomatic channels, requests are made for information, and then reviewed by Panama officials. A decision on compliance is made or requests for more information are made so a determination can be arrived at. These cases can take months and even years for completion. The MLAT has no application to civil cases such as divorce, civil judgments, bankruptcy, business litigation, any sort of civil litigation, civil tax matters etc. Taxation matters of any sort are not covered by this as far as Panama is concerned. Even Switzerland cooperates on income tax cases if the return is filed falsely (for example, not all income was declared, things were omitted or so the complaining government says.)

For further information on how to create your business in Panama, please contact us. We invite you to take a look at our package pricing for starting your corporation quickly and efficiently. We welcome any questions you have and look forward to doing business with you. Let us help you in defining success. For further information on doing business in Panama, consult our information section and our blog where you will find a wealth of resources to guide you.