Panama - Corporation Company Incorporation

Company Type	Time to Incorporate	Cost
Corporation	2 days	£740

Advantages of Panama Incorporation

Panama has a number of features that make this an asset protection jurisdiction for corporations and we will supply you with:

     - Original Articles of Incorporation   
     - Official translation into English of Articles of Incorporation   
     - Notarised undated Letter of Resignation of Nominee Directors (if Nominee Directors)   
     - Notarised Meeting of Board of Directors   
     - Original Share Certificate   
     - Notarised and Apostilled Power of Attorney

Features:

• No restrictions on nationality
• No requirements to disclose ownership
• No restrictions concerning ownership of shares
• No residence requirements for directors/officers
• No paid up capital requirements
• No income tax, if income is produced outside Panama
• Total tax exemption on all and any business activity or transaction carried on outside the jurisdiction
• No exchange controls
• No requirements to file annual financial statements
• No requirement to hold Annual General Meetings of shareholders or directors
• Total Secrecy and anonymity
• Reasonable annual registration tax and resident agent fees
• Articles of Incorporation may be done in any language

Incorporate procedure in Panama

To incorporate a company and execute the Articles of Incorporation in conformity with the laws of the Panama, the following is required:

• The Corporation must indicate that it is a corporation by adding S.A. or Inc., or Corp
• The company objects
• The share capital and the number of shares
• The corporation may issue its share certificates to bearer or certificate form
• A minimum of three directors are required who need not be shareholders and may be any nationality
• The names and addresses of the directors
• The names of the first officers of the Corporation which need not be directors or shareholders, and may be any nationality and reside in any country
• Panama Corporations must have a President, Treasurer and a Secretary and an individual may be more than one of these positions

Advantages of a Panama Corporation

• Incorporating a corporation takes approximately 24 hours and four days to be registered at the Panama Registry
• It may be owned by a single person
• All the shares of the corporation may be issued to the bearer
• The capital of the corporation need not be paid at the time of the incorporation
• The Directors and officers can be any nationality
• The Board of Directors must be composed of at least 3 directors
• Meetings of the Board of a Panama corporation may be held in any country and the directors can attend personally or by proxy
• The meetings of shareholders of the corporation may be held in any country
• The corporation may engage in any lawful business, even if it is not similar to any of the objects of the corporation specified in the articles of incorporation
• Corporations only have to pay income tax in Panama for income derived from sources within Panama
• The freedom to appoint directors and officers of a any nationality and country of residence
• The legal protection afforded for the confidentiality of business and banking transactions
• The tax exemption status provided to offshore companies
• The complete anonymity afforded to owners of Panamanian Corporations through the use of bearer shares
• The freedom of capital movement in and out of Panama and the absence of regulatory supervision

Taxes

Offshore derived income is not taxed and does not need to be reported. You can have a Panama Corporation that banks in Panama and has an office in Panama and yet will not pay any Panama taxes if all the income is derived offshore.

Corporate Law

Under Panama's Corporation Law it is possible to have a corporation owned by only one person. The Law requires a minimum of three officers (a president, a treasurer, and a secretary) and three directors. However, one person may hold two or more offices. It is not necessary that the directors or officers be Panamanian nominees or shareholders.

Panama Corporation - Tax Benefits

There is no tax imposed by Panama on any offshore derived income and there is not even a need to file any tax returns for the corporation if all the income was offshore derived. If you maintain an office in Panama, have a phone in Panama, have a Panama Corporation, and even have a bank account for the corporation in a Panama Bank yet there is still no need to pay taxes or even file tax returns if all the income is offshore sourced.

Panama Corporation - Privacy

There is also no registry to record transfer of the corporation ownership.

Panama Corporation and Property Ownership

A Panama Corporation can own property anywhere in the world and this makes the ownership anonymous. To sell the property one merely transfers the shares of the corporation along with a bill of sale signed by the nominee directors. This could reduce taxes resulting from the sale of the property, since the property is not really being sold it is the corporation that owns the property that is being sold, the property is still owned by the same corporation.