Thread: tax- and visa/work permit info

hey all,

im looking for some information, and cant find anything very clear so far.

first of all, im looking for a sheet or site, with a simple, or as simple as possible, overview of the taxrates in panama.
also, i would like to know if the free zone is completely tax-free, or is it only free from im-export duties?
and i read soemthing abt foreignly owned income being taxfree. does foreignly owned simply mean that the income is coming from abroad, or is that for ppl that work and live outside panama, and only have their registration there?


the second thing im interested in, are the rules for visas and work permits.
me and my dad, and his company, will be moving to panama in a few months. i would like to know if its best to be a shareholder, or to try to get visa/work permit as an employee.
and is there even a difference between visa and work permit in panama, or could u also work while staying on yr tourist visa, and just renew every 3 months? im guessing no, but since its free to ask im asking anyways


looking forward to hear ideas! thanks and have a nice day!

Im interested in the same thing Jan! maybe we could help eachother out. I emailed for a while with the Panamanian consulate in the Netherlands about having a visa (student visa) and a work permit. Here are the email adresses and telephone numbers of the Panamanian Consulate in NL: consul@consulateofpanama.nl o inroner@consulateofpanama.nl Tel. (3110) 4138512 ó 4143828

They woren;t very clear about work permit:

Sobre las oportunidades de trabajo no tenemos mayor información por lo que le recomendamos visitar las diferentes opciones que ofrecen las Web en Internet. www.panamatramita.gob.pa www.panamastart.com

To me it was funny that a consul or a emassador can't give info but sends you to the internet... maybe it can help you out!

The internet can be more misleading, everybody and their mother can post their erroneous info and assumptions, also everything can suddenly change. Two lawyers can give different answers as well.

Saying that here are a few of mine.


I have never really come across anything clear or concise about Panama tax rates or Panama law for that matter.
The Colon free zone has no taxes on sales as long as it is delivered by the vendor to the port for export.
Income generated outside Panama by a resident foreigner is not taxable in Panama.
You will need a work permit to work, a tourist visa means that you are on holiday.

Originally Posted by Contrail

The internet can be more misleading, everybody and their mother can post their erroneous info and assumptions, also everything can suddenly change. Two lawyers can give different answers as well.

Saying that here are a few of mine.


I have never really come across anything clear or concise about Panama tax rates or Panama law for that matter.
The Colon free zone has no taxes on sales as long as it is delivered by the vendor to the port for export.
Income generated outside Panama by a resident foreigner is not taxable in Panama.
You will need a work permit to work, a tourist visa means that you are on holiday.

hey contrail thanks for yr input!

yes i understood that abt the free zone. but does this also apply to services? for example, we deal a lot with a european company, and we provide them with temp workers, who work on their ships. would that also be taxfree?
or is that simply seen as foreignly owned, and herefore taxfree either way, regardless of being in free zone or not?

Originally Posted by Annepannetje

Im interested in the same thing Jan! maybe we could help eachother out. I emailed for a while with the Panamanian consulate in the Netherlands about having a visa (student visa) and a work permit. Here are the email adresses and telephone numbers of the Panamanian Consulate in NL: consul@consulateofpanama.nl o inroner@consulateofpanama.nl Tel. (3110) 4138512 ó 4143828

They woren;t very clear about work permit:

Sobre las oportunidades de trabajo no tenemos mayor información por lo que le recomendamos visitar las diferentes opciones que ofrecen las Web en Internet. www.panamatramita.gob.pa www.panamastart.com

To me it was funny that a consul or a emassador can't give info but sends you to the internet... maybe it can help you out!

hey anne thanks! im going to panama next week myself, and im planning on doing some investigation abt this as well. if i find out anything usefull, i will let you know as well

and embassy ppl cant surprise me anymore! they just wanna get u of the phone, or out their office, or out of their inbox lol

well i guess this questions were harder then i expected.
can anyone then advice me good lawyers, specialized in these subjects? preferably from personal experiences, of course.
thanks!

Originally Posted by janl

well i guess this questions were harder then i expected.
can anyone then advice me good lawyers, specialized in these subjects? preferably from personal experiences, of course.
thanks!

The bottom line is that Panama is a great place to set up a business to serve foreign clients but not to find a job. Some of the requirements for finding a job as a foreigner appear in My Panama Lawyer: work permit