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Special Tax Regimes

Panama has created a set of laws and regulations that allow local and foreign investors to establish businesses in particular segregated areas that possess a variety of fiscal, migratory, and labor incentives with the main objective of developing different types of activities and promoting international trade, manufacturing production and complementary services. These are known as Special Economic Zones.

FABREGA MOLINO has a specialized multidisciplinary group to serve multinational and local companies that seek to establish their commercial operations in Panama. This team is based on lawyers who are experts in their respective fields and offer comprehensive legal services in all aspects of client operations, including corporate matters, taxes, business and operational licenses, labor and immigration matters, business matters, intellectual property, real estate, and commercial transactions.

FABREGA MOLINO has gained experience in legal advice in the following special economic areas:

The Colon Free Zone is a free trade zone whose objective is to serve as a platform for the redistribution of wholesale and tax-free goods from Asia, Europe, and North America to Latin America and the Caribbean. Located on the Atlantic side of the country, this area is supported by various logistic and financial services that utilize its connectivity to expand merchandise flow to regional markets.

The Panama Pacifico Area is a particular economic zone model to be a hub for the manufacture of high technology, logistics services, commercial activities, and non-traditional services, with an ecologically friendly residential area. A consortium between a state agency and a private developer develops an aggressive master plan that includes dedicated areas for the storage and creation of distribution centers, manufacturing, commercial offices, airport, and residential operations.

City of Knowledge is a complex in charge of the City of Knowledge Foundation, an organization created in 1995 for non-profit businesses. The City of Knowledge provides tax and migratory incentives for its users who are located within the complex and dedicate themselves to research and innovation in the scientific, technological, humanistic, and cultural fields of knowledge transfer for productive activities and high-quality programs.

Special System of Multinational Company Headquarters (SEM): SEMs operate as a foreign company registered in Panama or as a Panamanian company owned by a transnational company. Their objective is to provide define services to its parent company or subsidiary from Panama.

Special Regime for the Establishment and Operation of Multinational Companies for the Provision of Services Related to Manufacturing (EMMA): EMMA seeks to create a new regime aimed at companies from the same economic group to settle in Panama perform their services related to manufacturing.

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Relevant Transactions:

  • The firm assists a multinational company operating in the sports sector in obtaining their SEM License.

  • The firm assists a multinational company operating in the food sector in obtaining their SEM License.

Related people

José Agustin Preciado

Senior Partner

Lourdes Bishop

Senior Associate