Offshores in Panama. Recommended for Ukraine

Important: Panama is not considered an offshore jurisdiction in Ukraine and is included in the “white” list!

The Republic of Panama is a presidential republic located in Central America. It has been a member of the UN since 1945. The official language is Spanish. Panama quickly became a major corporate tax haven and an international banking centre. Two laws brought the country success as a tax haven. The corporate law, based on the Delaware State corporate code of 1927, provides the simplest system in the world for creating and operating corporations. It is estimated that more corporations (about 50,000) were created in Panama in the past several years than in all other financial havens of the Caribbean and Central America combined.

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At present, the basis of Panama’s economy is cargo transit through its ports as well as financial services, agriculture, manufacturing, construction and tourism. Thanks to banking, Panama is the principal financial centre of Latin America.

Offshore company law in Panama

Panamanian laws on the creation of corporations contain very few requirements. Apart from the annual fee of B/.300 (US$300), there are no corporate taxes on non-resident legal entities, no requirements to file accounts and no government control. The required three directors of the offshore company may also act as officers and may be non-residents or residents of the country. There is no minimum paid-in capital, no accounting requirements and no conditions concerning the frequency and timing of corporate meetings, and there is no need to specify where corporate records are kept. In addition to this corporate climate, there is a law authorising numbered and coded bank accounts. The same banking law permits the use of pseudonyms on bank accounts and provides criminal liability for improper disclosure of bank account information.

A law adopted back in 1927 fully exempts offshore companies, registered in Panama, from all taxes on company income and activities carried out outside the Panama offshore zone and from providing accounting, audit or other reports. An offshore company registered in Panama may have a bank account in any country in the world, including Panama itself. The official currency in Panama is the US dollar. There is no foreign-exchange control.

Rules for registering an offshore company in Panama.

To register an offshore company in Panama, at least three directors are required, and they may be nominees. The register of directors is open, but when a nominee director is used, the true director of the company cannot be established, which provides confidentiality of management. Corporate directors are permitted.

It is necessary to have and pay for a registered office (legal address) in Panama and also to pay annually for the services of a registered agent.

Shares and shareholders.

Shares may be issued with or without par value. Bearer shares are permitted.

One shareholder is sufficient to register an offshore company in Panama. By law, the Shareholders Register must include the following information: names in alphabetical order, permanent residential addresses and shareholder details, except for holders of bearer shares. The register may be kept anywhere in the world.

There are no mandatory requirements to hold annual shareholder meetings. Minutes of shareholder meetings may be kept anywhere in the world selected by the company director.

Documents and authorised capital.

The standard authorised capital is USD 10,000; there is no requirement to pay it in.