Dec. 24, 2009
Panama City, Panama
PLUS:
- Typical Panamanian Construction?...
- White Christmas...
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Dear Live and Invest Overseas Reader,
"
Panama is one of the best places in the world to think about starting a business as we approach New Year 2010," writes the best offshore and tax attorney I've ever worked with,
Chris Rusch.
"I have the following basic requirements when considering a jurisdiction as a business haven. If it doesn't offer these benefits, you're spinning your wheels trying to operate a business in the place. Panama boasts every one of these advantages:
- Panama imposes low or zero tax on foreign-source income. Assuming you are not selling a product or service to Panamanians and you have a proper operating structure, you can legitimately operate near tax-free in this country.
- Panama has strong telecom and Internet services. There is nothing worse than for an American or a European to call a foreign office and get a bad connection. It makes him think he's calling some Banana Republic, not a serious operation. A strong infrastructure for telephone, website hosting, and e-mail service allows your business to operate efficiently and presents a good image to potential clients and customers all over the world.
- If you are going to market to people in the United States, you need to be in the same time zone. Attempting to service the U.S. from Asia or Europe is tough. It may work for a few months, but it'll wear you out.
- Panama has strong human resources. However, the growth of the call-center business in this country is pushing up the rate for English-speakers. A quality assistant in the U.S. should earn about US$2,300 per month; in Panama, you can hire a good, English-speaking assistant for US$600 to US$800 a month. Experienced and capable (and, again, English-speaking) web and IT support costs US1,200 to US$2,000 a month.
- You need a stable economy and a stable currency to feel safe doing business in any country. Panama is a U.S.-dollar-based economy; an American couldn't ask for less currency risk. Of course, you can keep large deposits elsewhere, such as in Switzerland.
- Panama has little or no pollution compared with many big international business cities, such as Mexico City, Beijing, and Bangkok.
- Quality suburban living is possible outside Panama City, and Panama City is cleaner than most comparable capital cities.
- There are plenty of direct flights in and out of Panama City.
"All this and earthquake- and hurricane-free!"
Kathleen Peddicord
P.S. Our favorite beach town in this country,
Las Tablas, on the emerging Gold Coast of Panama's Azuero Peninsula, is the focus of the premier issue of my
Panama Letter, due out tomorrow. If you're not already a subscriber (or a Panama Circle Member, as all Panama Circle Members have already been subscribed to
The Panama Letter with our compliments), you can become a subscriber in time to read this first issue and
save 50% off the regular subscription price thanks to our ongoing 12 Days Of Christmas Sale!
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We arrived in Baltimore last weekend, after a full day's weather delay, to find the city, indeed this entire mid-Atlantic region, blanketed in white. Everywhere, people complain about shoveling their front walks and scraping the ice from their car windshields. For us, the contrast to Panama is welcome. We're here for two weeks, and I expect that, by the end of that time, we'll be ready to return to Panama City's sunshine and shirt-sleeves climate. Meantime, we're savoring this chance for a white Christmas.
"Kathleen, I have read different places that Panamanians have different priorities from North Americans when it comes to housing. Would you be able to explain what this means? How would a
typical Panamanian house differ from a typical American one?"
-- Janet R., United States
Typical Panamanian construction equates to low-end North American construction. They don't use double-glazed windows, for example, and the walls are thin, because they don't have to worry about insulating for cold weather. This means they don't insulate for hot weather, either. They don't use weather-stripping. Doors are hollow-core, and windows are small and simple squares without decorative casings, trims, or sills. You get neither ceiling nor floor moldings. Bathrooms aren't tiled. Etc.
The biggest difference is generally in the quality of the finishes--faucets, sinks, door hardware, cabinet pulls, etc. These things are typically very low-end.
Also, a typical Panamanian house would be delivered without a kitchen and without things like lighting fixtures. If you're buying new, you'd be expected to purchase and install these things yourself after you take possession.
That's typical Panamanian. Remember that it's also possible in this country to build and to buy typical North American. It depends on the contractor or the developer you work with.
