Panama is an independent state located in a strategically extremely advantageous position - this country provides the link between the two halves of the American continent, North and South.
Until 1821, Panama was a colony of Spain, but in 1903 it became a fully self-governing state.
A significant source of revenue for Panama is the fees for use of the Panama Canal, which has belonged to Panama since 1999. In addition, the Colon Free Zone, which lies on Panama territory, is the second largest free zone in the world, smaller only than the free zone of Hong Kong.
Panama adheres to the territorial system of taxation of income, and does not tax income derived outside its borders. Consequently, Panamian companies not deriving their income within Panama are completely exempt from Panamian tax.
| GENERAL INFORMATION | Total area - 78,515 sq km
Population - 2,500,000
Location - click here to see the map of offshore jurisdictions
Political status - Republic
Capital - Panama City
Official language - Spanish, English in general use
Official currency - USA Dollar (USD); Bilboa (PAB)
Time zone - GMT - 5 |
| Company type | Corporation |
| Directors/Officers | Panama Corporations require a minimum of 3 Directors, who may be natural persons or corporate bodies from any legal jurisdiction.
Each Panama Corporation must file a Register of its Directors with the Register of Enterprises of Panama. |
| Shareholders | Shareholder/s of Panama Corporation may be natural persons or corporate bodies from any legal jurisdiction.
Bearer shares are allowed; in this case, no information about shareholders is stated in company documents. |
| Secretary | Panama Corporations require a minimum of 1 Secretary, who may be a natural person or a corporate body from any legal jurisdiction.
Each Panama Corporation must file an information on its Secretary with the Register of Enterprises of Panama. |
| Authorised share capital | Standard authorised capital = USD 10,000.
There is no statutory requirement for capital to be fully or partly paid on incorporation. |
| Company Names | The name of a Panama Corporation must end with the words "Sociedad Anonima", "Incorporated", "Corporation" or suffixes such as "Inc.", "Corp.", "S.A", etc.
Company names containing restricted words such as "Bank", "Insurance", "Trust", "Assurance", "Imperial" etc. will not be permitted unless an appropriate national operating licence has been obtained by the company. |
| Beneficial Ownership information | There is no requirement to disclose an information about beneficial ownership to local authorities. |
| Filing of Annual Return | There is no requirement to file an Annual Return. |
| Filing of Financial Statement | There is no requirement to file Financial Statements in Panama for Corporations. |
| Corporate Taxation | Panama companies are not subject to corporation tax in Panama. |
| Tax Treaties | Panama does not have treaties with any other jurisdictions dealing with the avoidance of double taxation. |
| Timeframe for incorporation | 6/7 working days. A complete set of company documents can be delivered in 4/5 weeks. |
| Takeover of management & secretarial services for an existing Panama Corporation | Possible, following verification of Beneficial Ownership and agreement with and discharge of liabilities to previous corporate service provider in Panama. |
| Description of incorporation documents | Click here for itemised description of company documents. |
| "Ready-made"("Shelf") companies | Today we have 28 "Ready-made" companies available in this jurisdiction (click here for list of companies) |
| Price of Panama Corporation | USD 1,490, including incorporation costs, full domiciliary (Registered Agent/Office) costs, Nominee services and legal support services for one year. |
| Cost of annual support services | USD 990 per year, including full domiciliary (Registered Agent/Office) costs, annual Government Duty, Nominee services and legal support services for each year. |
