Panama Foundation
Order Panama Private Foundation Online
Panama Private Interest Foundation Legislation
- Panama Law No. 25, 1995.
- Panamanian foundations whose revenue is earned outside Panama, are tax exempt.
Panama Private Foundation Advantages
- No founder, member of the council (nor any creditor of a member/founder) has any claim, ownership or right to the assets in the Panama foundation. The assets in the foundation make up an estate that is independent from the founder or member.
- The Panama foundation has a wide range of uses and purposes.
- Panama foundation can be revoked, changed or amended.
- Liabilities are corporate liabilities and cannot be attached to council members.
- Under the law, Panama foundation is protected against forced heirship ruling and protects against other foreign rules and laws.
- The foundation may open, own and operate bank accounts; they may buy and sell real estate.
- Corporate entities (including interest in panama corporations) may form part of the foundation.
- In the foundation charter the founder may reserve for himself/herself or for other persons, the right to remove the members of the foundation Council, as well as to appoint or add new members.
- Anyone including the members of the foundation council or supervisory bodies, as well as the public or private employees in Panama with any knowledge of the activities, transactions or operations of the foundation who break confidentiality shall be penalized with six (6) months imprisonment and a $50,000.00 fine.
Panama Foundation Registration Requirements
We only offer Panama foundations with Nominee Members; this is a standard practice for Panama Foundation registration. The main reason being — unlike the Anguilla, Belize or Nevis laws, the content of the Panama Foundations Charter are available for public scrutiny. As such to protect your confidentiality and privacy, we enforce the use of nominees.
Panama Private Foundation packages will include three nominee members. To Order a Panama Offshore Foundation these are the specific conditions and requirements that must be fulfilled:
- You must use the services of a local agent (that’s us)
- You must set an endowment of no less than US$10,000
- Complete the Declaration of Establishment DOE (we provide that online)
- Pay up Government Fees (we include this in our fees)
Panama Foundation Components
- The foundation council — Panama private interest foundation council must have at least one member. That member can be a founder or a beneficiary as well. In our Regular Package you provide the council members. We provide nominee foundation services in our Nominee Packages; your privacy is maintained when you use nominees as it is their names that show up on documents, not yours. We provide signed letters of resignation for the member and give you a Power of Attorney.
- Secretary — all Panama foundations need a local secretary. We appoint one for you, and that is included in the package.
- Protector — while this is an optional position we recommend it for clients who use nominee services. You as the founder can empower another person (can be yourself) to oversee Panama private foundation and the council. Once written in the private interest foundation charter the Protector has the power to hire or fire the members, and has ultimate control of the operations of the foundation.
Panama Foundations Maintenance Requirements
- The foundation must provide an account of its activities at least once a year.
- Accounts, bookkeeping or audits for government purposes are not needed. The foundation may on its own decide on its reporting requirements.
- Annual renewals must be paid up (by agent) to maintain the foundation on the register. We will send annual notices to you in advance.
Restrictions on Panama Private Interest Foundations
- Panama foundations must have appropriate license to conduct, banking, insurance or finance business activity.
- To maintain an international or offshore status, the foundation cannot hold Panama property, none of the founders or beneficiaries can be Panama residents, but it can own interest in Panama Corporations .
Documentation for Private Interest Foundations in Panama
Once you use our online order form to Order a Panama Foundation, you will need to have the following:
- Name of foundation — must end with the word “Foundation” or an abbreviated form of the word
- Initial endowment value (no less than $10,000)
- Name and addresses of
- Founder
- Foundation Council member (nominee or personal)
- Secretary (we provide)
- Guardian (if desired)
- Beneficiaries
- Provisions for amendments
- Purpose of the foundation
- Provisions for powers, inclusion of Bylaws, and other lawful provisions
- Duration of the foundation
Once we have received payment and completed your order for Panama foundation, you will be sent a Certificate of Registration as proof of existence. It is issued by the Registrar and contains only:
- Date of registration
- Name of a Panama foundation
- Foundation registration number
- Names and addresses of members (nominee)
- Name and address of agent
- Purpose of the Panama foundation
- Initial subscription or endowment value
The certificate is valid for one year from date of registration, after which you must complete the renewal process. There are penalty fees for late renewals and if not renewed, the Panama foundation can be struck off or terminated.