Firm

On June 27 2019, the Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) issued the third version of the private equity principles (principles). The principles continue to reiterate that the essence of an effective private equity partnership is built on the alignment of interests, governance and transparency; however, this third version also addresses new issues.

On November 30 2018, the Act on Prevention of Transfer of Criminal Proceeds was amended in order to introduce new methods of verifying the identity of customers. The Act aims to prevent services provided by specified business operators under the Act, such as financial institutions, from being used for money laundering by criminal organisations.

Since Panama is a country with a territorial tax regime, it makes sense to have specific criteria to determine, on a case-by-case basis, if a person can be considered a Panamanian tax resident. A territorial tax regime implies that a taxpayer is only subject to the payment of taxes in Panama if its net monetary income has been obtained from commercial activity carried out within the Panamanian territory. Financial, legal and logistics services are among Panama's most robust economic drivers and these are attractive industries for foreign investment. This incoming foreign capital brings with it foreign individuals and corporate entities, which in turn leads to discussion on whether such foreign individuals and corporate entities should be considered Panamanian tax residents.