PRESIDENT OF PANAMA INVITES THE POPE TO VISIT HIS COUNTRY

The Holy See Press Office published the following communique at midday today:

“Today in the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal, president of the Republic of Panama, was received in audience by His Holiness Benedict XVI. The president subsequently went on to meet Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

“The cordial discussions provided an opportunity for a fruitful exchange of opinions on questions concerning the current international and regional situation.

“Attention also focused on certain aspects of the situation in Panama itself, in particular on the social policies launched by the government, development projects for the country, and collaboration between Church and State with a view to promoting Christian values and the common good. Finally, the president invited the Holy Father to visit the country”.

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Panama Canal Timelapse

A great video through the Panama Canal I thought you might enjoy

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Your First Time Visit to Panama City

Most people on their first visit tourists to the Republic of Panama will probably book their stay at a Panama city beach hotel or resorts first for their vacation in Panama. After you’ve reserved the resort or hotel in Panama you want to rest at, obviously, you are going to wish to know about everything to see in Panama apart from the beautiful beaches.

Panama City, which is located on the bay of the Pacific Ocean is one of the most up to date, urban places in Panama and in Central America, diverse, very worldly and hip. It has kilometers of white sandy beaches along its shoreline and in the city many hotels and beach resorts at all prices ranges for one to choose from for your holiday in Panama city.

Because of its perfect location on the isthmus, Panama City, is very similar to some of the other great port cities of commerce and trading cities like Singapore or Hong Kong. It is a thriving and bustling city economically speaking, with an industry based on tourism, commerce, and banking. The panoramic scenery from one of the skyscrapers in Panama is marvellous, you can see the famous Panama Canal, the Pacific coast bay and the sea, the shining skyscrapers of the town center and mountains with green rainforests situated behind the amazing skyline.

There is also San Felipe to visit, the old town complete with old Colonial churches, and 19th Century manors. You could also visit out the remains of Panamá Viejothe, first European town established in Latin America on the Pacific coast . Add a visit to Balboa which was the former U.S. Canal Zone town returned to the Republic of Panama in 1979.

To escape from the hustle and the bustle of urban Panama City, 20 kilometers by boat from the city in the bay is the Isla Taboga (Island of Flowers) and also you will want to discover the tropical rainforests of the Parque Nacional Metropolitano.

To explore the rest of the country, Panama City is a great center from which to begin your journey of discovery. There are single day trips from Panama City to the Caribbean coast up to the Canal, Portobelo, and Colón.

For those who love carnivals, one of the most fun times to travel to Panama is during the Carnival festival which lasts for one weekend a year, the weekend prior Ash Wednesday. However, be certain to make your hotel reservations enough time in advance of the carnival because all hotels, in Panama book up rapidly.

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Setting Up an Offshore Panama E-Commerce Business

The Republic of Panama has often been referred to as the “Grandmother of All Tax Havens.” Panama, in contrast to modern offshore areas, has a territorial tax system remains true to its roots in the fiscal code of 1916. The long-established concept of ‘tax territoriality’ means that only operations carried out within Panama are taxable.

Naturally, this makes it the perfect base for setting up an international e-commerce business. E-commerce takings from outside the country can be electronically banked in Panama in US dollars and remain completely tax free. Both Panamanian and international banks offer merchant account facilities for accepting credit cards online.

Panama uses the US dollar as its national currency, and funds may be freely transferred in and out of Panama. There have never been currency restrictions, and the banking industry in Panama has long flourished alongside the country’s development as an international trade hub.

For e-commerce businesses, Panama City, and surrounding areas such as the City of Knowledge at the old Clayton air base, boasts a highly sophisticated communications infrastructure. Combine this with a tax and business-friendly legal and fiscal regime, and the human resources necessary to establish an e-commerce business at half the cost of the United States or Europe. No wonder that large IT companies like Dell have already chosen to locate major operations in Panama.

Looking back, Panama has played a leading role in developing e-commerce in the Latin American region. This began in August 2001, when Panama became the first country in the region to adopt a new law specific to electronic commerce. Both the public and private sectors in Panama have contributed to the enactment of this new law, with the Panamanian government also leading the way on accepting digital filings and signatures.

The telecommunications and internet infrastructure in Panama is up there with the best in the world, with bandwidth now available that is competitive with what you would expect in major US cities. These state-of-the-art telecommunications facilities and services are made available to e-commerce businesses at very competitive rates.

In fact, five major fiber optic networks cross the isthmus of Panama, while the capital city benefits from several fiber optic metropolitan networks deployed as well as world class mission-critical data and hosting centers. Offshore hosting in Panama has become quite a business of its own in recent years, as companies from other countries seek to take advantage of this infrastructure.

In terms of human resources, Panama has a high literacy rate, a large supply of bilingual certified engineers, and excellent English language skills due to the American influence.

Another advantage of Panama, of course, is that it is very ‘liveable.’ It offers all the benefits of a first world city, a safe and secure environment, and a choice of beautiful beaches or pristine rainforests just a short drive out of the city. And with convenient direct air connections to cities all over North and South America and the Caribbean, if you need to travel for business or pleasure, getting in and out of Panama is quick, cheap and convenient.

Overall, Panama is a highly attractive base for offshore e-commerce. If you are thinking of setting up in this business, take a look at this country!

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Panama Foundations for Estate Planning and Offshore Asset Protection

Private Interest Foundations in Panama are an ideal tool for succession planning and asset protection. They can either be inter vivos (active during your lifetime) or testamentary (activated upon death). The Foundation may, for example, serve as a substitute for a will, thereby legally avoiding probate. In this respect it is similar to a ‘living will.’

It can very effectively isolate a portion of your estate dictating the management and succession of specific assets. Needless to say this is very important for international assets that may not be easily brought within the scope of a traditional last will and testament.

The key to making this work is the selection of beneficiaries. Let’s say you want to divide your assets equally between your two children – you simply appoint these two persons as beneficiaries. You may choose to tell your heirs or not as you wish.

Of course, secrecy can only exist up to a point. Although you could choose to keep the entire Foundation totally under wraps, from a practical point of view it is very important to leave some details so that after your death, someone will inform the beneficiaries. You could, for example, leave detailed death instructions in a sealed envelope with a trusted friend or lawyer. The best idea, however, is probably to appoint a trusted third party as a ‘Protector’ of the Panama Foundation. Remember you can appoint more than one Protector, or you could even appoint a Corporation as protector.

What about using a Panama Foundation for simple offshore asset protection during your lifetime? Here too,

Foundations provide a very attractive alternative to the Trust for purposes of asset separation and protection. Compared to asset protection trusts, they are lower profile and less vulnerable to hostile interpretation by the courts. Panamanian law is unequivocal that assets transferred to the Foundation cannot be seized or attached and they cannot be used to satisfy the obligations of either the founder or the beneficiaries.

As always, however, I don’t recommend relying on purely legal protections. The ultimate protection is to make sure that even in Panama, any assets the Foundation holds are completely unknown and invisible to anyone such as the Foundation Council or Registered Agent who could possibly be subpoenaed in a court case. What they don’t know, they can’t be forced to tell – even in the unlikely event that a Panamanian court tries to enforce a judgment contrary to Panamanian law.

The only exception to this rule is that creditors have a right to challenge a Panamanian foundation within a period of 3 years from the date the assets being claimed are given to the foundation. It’s important to note that this period runs from the date that the assets went into the foundation, not from the date the Foundation was registered.

The Foundation’s financial affairs are nobody’s business but its own, and it should be up to you to decide who to tell about the existence of the Foundation. So for added security, I typically recommend what I call ’strategic geographic diversification’ when setting up a long term structure for estate planning.

Put simply, this means that you should open a bank account where most of the Foundation’s assets will be held outside Panama. European banks fit the bill perfectly here, and when forming a Foundation you should seek introductions and recommendations of reputable European banks that understand Panamanian legal documents. Banking outside Panama gives a strong extra level of protection

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