Glossary of Terms

Asset-
Bearer-
Bearer Share Corporation-
Capital Gain-
Coded Bank Accounts-
Corporation- The corporation structure is used worldwide to basically carry out a business enterprise and keep the owners business assets (and liabilities) separate from his own.  As a separate entity, The corporation usually has it’s own tax identification number and is what can be termed a juridical person. Certainly it is not a human being, but it has all of the rights and responsibilities of a natural person under the law.  The key point is that the assets and liabilities of the corporation are separate and distinct from those of the shareholders.

Director-
Director-Professional- Professional director is a term normally used to refer to nominee directors who have been specifically hired to take on an active role in the management of the company. Unlike nominee directors who simply rent their names and sign documents prepared by lawyers, a professional director is typically either a professionally qualified person such as a lawyer, or a well-known businessman with many years experience. (Retired businesspeople frequently take on such positions)
Fiduciary-
Financial Action Task Force (FATF)- A private entity that unofficially dictates anti-money laundering statutes to the banks worldwide.
Foundation-
General Corporation Law-
Income-
Inheritance-
Interest-
Law-
-Civil Law
-Common Law
Liability-
Nominee- A nominee director is someone who in fact is renting his or her name to you. In Panama all corporations require three officers: President, Secretary and Treasurer. The names of these 3 officers appear on file at the Public Registry.
Nominee Shareholder-
Nominee Director- The basic function of the nominee director is to shield working executives of limited and other companies from the public disclosure requirements that exist in Panama. It is a legal device designed to preserve the privacy of an individual. It is designed to help a person who would rather not disclose their interest or association with a given corporation or Private Interest Foundation.
Numbered Bank Account-
Officer-
Paid-In Capital-
Panama Private Interest
Payroll-
Profit- The positive financial gain from a business operation or investment after deducting all expenses.

Profit-Gross- The difference between the cost of making a product or providing a service and revenue before deducting payroll, taxation, overhead and interest payments. Calculated as sales minus all costs directly related to those sales. These costs can include manufacturing expenses, raw materials, labor, selling, marketing and other expenses.
Profit Margin-
Profit-Net- Often referred to as the bottom line, net profit is calculated by subtracting a company’s total expenses from total revenue, thus showing what the company has earned (or lost) in a given period of time (usually one year). also called net income or net earnings.
Profit-Operating- Earnings before interest and taxes.
Professional Director- Professional director is a term normally used to refer to nominee directors who have been specifically hired to take on an active role in the management of the company. Unlike nominee directors who simply rent their names and sign documents prepared by lawyers, a professional director is typically either a professionally qualified person such as a lawyer, or a well-known businessman with many years experience. (Retired businesspeople frequently take on such positions)
Overhead-
Revenue-
Rolling Reserve Policy- Some merchant accounts require substantial deposits, while others have a rolling reserve system that ensures chargebacks are covered. A rolling reserve is when your merchant account provider will hold a deposit based on a percentage of a transfer from your merchant account to your bank account. The hold is generally for 1-2 weeks, and will then be funded with your next transfer in the form of a Reserve Release. This process is called a Rolling Reserve because for every transfer, some of it is held and the previous reserve is released. The hold of the funds will be barely noticable because payments being held is covered by what is being released, if your business is doing consistent sales numbers.
Shareholders-
Sociedad Anonima-
Statute- A law enacted by a legislature. A law made by a government and expressed in a formal document. A permanent rule made by a company or other institution.
Taxation-
Double Taxation-
European Union Withholding Tax Treaty-
International Taxation-
Tax Equalization-

Tax Haven- A country that do not enter into tax treaties.
Tax Treaty- An agreement made between governments to prevent tax evasion and double taxation by the resident of one country earning an income in another country regardless if income is passive or active. The amount of tax that a country can apply to a taxpayer’s income and wealth is generally determined by a tax treaty. An important aspect of a tax treaty is the policy regarding withholding taxes, which determine how much tax is levied on income (interest and dividends from securities owned by a non-resident.
Treaty-
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT)-
Trust- The trust structure, however, is a vehicle usually only found in common law countries and is most commonly used as an estate planning mechanism. The history of the trust is an interesting one and dates back to the period in England when wealthy noblemen and knights were called to fight in the crusades.  In order to protect inheritance rights and of course family assets, lands and holdings were placed “in trust” and were managed by a well regarded friend or family member. This was done to insure that the property was not mismanaged and to also insure that a trusted friend or family member was present to make sure the owner’s wishes were carried out in case of the owner’s death or incapacitation.  The trust structure was meant to be a safe haven, with the trustee as the guardian of that safe haven.  It was not meant to be a structure that would engage in business activities (as a corporation).  Again, under current interpretation in modern law, the trust structure is in theory meant to be a separate juridical person.  In this was it also is meant to separate the owner from his assets and offer protection under the law.   Like any other entity, the purpose is to keep the owner’s previously held assets safe and secure from violation or attachment.