Panama Foundation FAQ's
Frequently Asked Questions Q: Who are you and where are you located? A: We are a full service law firm that specializes in establishing corporations and foundations in the Republic of Panama. Our attorneys are registered agents in the Panama Public Registry. We are located in Panama City, Panama and our physical address and PO box is listed at the bottom of the website. Q: Why are your prices so low? A: We are wholesalers! We supply many of the major offshore providers with Panamanian corporations and foundations. We generally deal with wholesale clients but have recently begun offering discounted retail prices to the public for establishing Panamanian corporations, foundations and corporate accounts. Q: How can I trust your service, can you provide references? A: We are a reputable provider in the offshore industry. If you would like, we can provide you with a list of professional correspondent references. Unfortunately, due to the confidential nature of our business, we cannot provide our clients as references. Q: Do I need to come to Panama to finalize anything? A: No, you do not need to come to Panama. Everything can be done through email and courier. However, Panama is a beautiful country to visit and we encourage you to do so. Our attorneys would be more than happy to schedule a meeting with you for special consultations. Our attorneys charge an advance fee of US$100 per hour (with a minimum of 3 hours) for consultations. Q: What if I want a shelf entity? A: No problem. When you complete the order form, just indicate that you want a shelf entity instead of a new entity. If you need immediate delivery, then request a shelf entity. The price for a shelf corporation (or foundation) package is only US$1200. Q: Do you recommend a new corporation (or foundation), or should I use a shelf entity? A: That depends on your needs. If you want to use a specific name then you need to set up a new entity. If you need instant delivery and you can accept any company name, then we recommend a shelf entity. Q: Can I see a list of the shelf entities available and choose from them? A: Yes, we can send you a list of shelf entities to choose from. Just contact our sales staff and request the shelf list. Q: What is the difference between a corporation, foundation or trust? A: For banking purposes, there is very little difference. All entities come with everything you need to open bank or brokerage accounts. Generally, corporations are used for profit ventures involving business activity such as securities trading, banking, international trade, ownership of assets etc.. Most of our clients establish corporations. Foundations are generally used for non-profit activities such as charities, receiving or giving donations, grants, etc., but can also be used for holding purposes such as holding ownership of corporations or any other type of asset. Most of our clients use Foundations to hold ownership of their corporations for additional confidentiality and asset protection. Trusts are generally used for holding purposes such as owning corporations, or holding assets such as real estate. Very few of our clients establish trusts due to the extensive offshore trust reporting rules that exist in many of our clients home countries around the world (USA, Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, etc.). As a result of the declining popularity of offshore trusts, we have refrained from selling or recommending offshore Trusts at this time. However, these are simply general guidelines for what each type of entity was initially created for and these guidelines do not have to be strictly adhered to as there is no authority in Panama that enforces the uses of each type of entity. Q: Can I use my entity (Corporation or Foundation) to hold ownership of real estate property in my home country? A: That depends on the country you are located in and the real estate ownership rules in that country. Some countries have extensive reporting requirements, additional property taxes, and all kinds of red tape to go through when titling real estate in the name of a foreign entity. For example, we do not recommend that you use Panama corporations, foundations, or trusts to hold ownership of real estate in the USA due to the extensive reporting requirements, additional property taxes, etc. imposed under the FIRPTA (Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act). If you are interested in asset protection for domestic real estate, then we generally recommend that you title the real estate in the name of a domestic entity (such as a domestic corporation, LLC, or trust) and then have the domestic entity owned by an offshore entity, such as an offshore corporation or foundation. Q: Is there any requirement to file Panama tax returns, keep books for the corporation, have an accountant, etc.? A: No! Most people go offshore to eliminate extensive reporting requirements! There are no requirements to file Panama tax returns, keep books for the corporation, or have an accountant, etc. However, you should obtain professional guidance from your domestic attorney or accountant regarding income tax reporting requirements of your country of residence. It is YOUR responsibility and decision to report or not to report to the tax authorities in your country that you do business offshore. We do not provide any information regarding our clients structures to any government authority in any country. Under the Corporate Book Secrecy laws, it is a crime to release any information about our clients corporations in Panama. The act of "Piercing the Corporate Veil" is not permitted in Panama. Q: Are there annual renewal fees for the corporation or foundation? A: The annual fee for registered office, resident agent and nominee directors is only a total of US$450. The first year's fee is included in the purchase price. On each anniversary date of the corporation, beginning in year number two, we will invoice you for this fee. If you choose not to extend the life of your entity, you simply do not pay the annual fee. In this case, your corporation will be removed from the public registry, and the corporate name will be made available again for new formations. Q: What will I receive for US$1000? A: Each Panamanian corporation package comes complete with articles of incorporation (with official English translation), resident agent, registered office, share certificates (issued either to the Bearer, or in Nominative form), and a resignation letter from the subscribers. Foundations include the registered foundation charter (with official English translation), resident agent, registered office, and notarized Private Protectorate Document. Optionally, you can ask us to provide nominee directors or council (no additional fee). In this case we will also include pre-signed, undated letters of resignation from each director (or council member), plus a Notarized and Appostiled General Power of Attorney. The Power of Attorney comes with a blank space so you can complete it with any name you want. The persons name who appears in the Power of Attorney would have authority to actually operate the corporation (or foundation), e.g. sign contracts, open and operate bank and brokerage accounts etc. We also include one corporate brokerage account with each package. When you purchase the entity (corporation or foundation), you will receive the brokerage account application forms - all you need to do is to sign them where we indicate and send them back to us along with a photocopy of your passport or valid photo ID, one financial reference letter, and the initial deposit of US$3000 (check, wire, or e-gold). Q: What are nominee directors and nominee signatories? A: Nominee directors (or nominee council members) are directors that our law firm appoints for you. Each corporation or foundation must have 3 directors appointed when the entity is registered in the public registry of Panama. The directors names and passport numbers are on the public deed of the corporation (or foundation) and this information is publicly available. In many cases, our clients prefer to NOT be appointed as directors on the offshore entities due to either privacy reasons, or foreign public directorship reporting rules in their home countries. When we appoint nominee directors on our clients entities, we provide our clients with pre-signed, undated letters of resignation from each director so they can replace the directors at any time. The nominee directors we appoint are only there to fill in the blanks at the public registry and they have no authority over the entity for any kind of decision making. Nominee signatories are signatories that our law firm appoints for you on your corporate accounts. In many cases, our clients prefer to not be the signatory on the corporate accounts due to either privacy reasons or foreign account signing reporting rules in their home countries. When we appoint nominee signatories on our clients corporate accounts, we charge an annual fee of US$1000 (or 1%, whichever is more) for this service. When our clients want a transaction done on their corporate account, they would simply contact a designated service representative within our firm, and make the request, then we forward the request to the bank or broker to execute the transaction. Q: Can I transfer securities to the corporate brokerage account that you set up for my corporation? A: Yes, once the corporate brokerage account is set up, we will provide you with DTC instructions to transfer the securities to the corporate brokerage account. All you need to do is instruct your broker to DTC transfer the securities to the instructions we provide. If you have stock that is in physical certificate form, you must either deposit the stock in a brokerage account and DTC it to the corporate brokerage account, or have the stock certificates re-issued in the corporations name, then send the certificates to the brokerage firm along with the stock powers and the brokerage firm will deposit them into the corporate brokerage account. Q: Can I transfer mutual funds, IRA's, 401K's, or pension funds to the corporate brokerage accounts that you set up for my corporation (or foundation)? A: In most cases, mutual funds can be transferred without a problem through a DTC transfer if the are publicly traded mutual funds. Otherwise, if they are mutual funds that are not publicly traded (they do not have a symbol on the market like a stock), then it is slightly more difficult as you have to instruct the mutual fund company to transfer the ownership to the corporation. We do not assist our clients in transferring mutual funds, we only provide DTC instructions to transfer publicly traded securities. IRA's, 401k's, or pension funds cannot be transferred to the offshore corporation or foundation. Q: Do you provide additional services such as legal consulting, corporate mail forwarding, etc.? A: Yes, we provide legal consulting, however, we charge US$100 per hour with a 3 hour minimum (US$300) which we require that you pay in advance for. You can contact us for details. We also offer corporate mail forwarding services, corporate contracts and agreements, legal immigration services, real estate law, and much more. |