Our Legal Counsel Recommends Panama

Read more about Panama in International Living Postcards--your daily escape

Monday, Sept. 24, 2007

Since Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and claimed the Pacific for the King of Spain, this Central American country has been invaded by Spanish conquistadors, English pirates, and the United States military. In recent years, a new invasion has been under way. Americans, Canadians, and other international investors have been flocking here to buy real estate. North American baby boomers are in the majority, but a growing number of Europeans are developing projects or buying properties.

Regular readers of these Postcards know Panama is one of our favorite tax and residential havens. But if you're new to IL…Panama offers urban living, Atlantic and Pacific beaches, tropical forests, and coffee-growing highlands. Not only does the country welcome foreign investment and offshore banking with no taxes, but it also provides a host of tax-free benefits and reduced prices on goods and services for foreigners who make their home here.

Panama, with 3 million people in an area the size of South Carolina, has long been the crossroads of the world. Its strategic location as the narrow land link of North and South America allowed President Teddy Roosevelt and the United States government to build one of the technical wonders of the world--the famous Panama Canal, completed in 1914. (When you visit Panama, the Canal is a "must see.")

Now Panama is working on a $5 billion building project to widen the Panama Canal to increase its capacity. The beginning of the huge project was marked by a ceremony on Sept. 3 attended by Panamanian President Martin Torrijos and foreign dignitaries.

A stand out among current offshore tax havens, Panama combines maximum financial privacy, a long history of judicial enforcement of asset protection-friendly laws, strong anti-money laundering laws, tax exemptions for foreigners and, due to its unique historic relationship with the United States, a high degree of independence from outside pressures, including those from Washington, D.C.

Despite its relatively advanced industrial and financial infrastructure, Panama remains an affordable place to live. A live-in maid earns as little as $150 a month and first-run movies cost $3.75. Unlike much of Central America, Panama boasts a first-class health care system with low costs compared to the United States. A doctor's office visit costs about $15. The European air of the Spanish-speaking country reflects its colonial history, but American influence can be seen in its supermarkets, malls, and currency. (The balboa, fixed at a one-to-one ratio with the U.S. dollar, is the official currency, but only coins are minted--U.S. dollars are used in all transactions.)

My advice: Come to Panama and see for yourself.

Robert E. Bauman JD
Legal Counsel, International Living

Editor's note: Robert E. Bauman, JD, legal counsel for International Living, is a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives and author of The Offshore Money Manual. No one knows the A-Z of going offshore like Robert Bauman…so we asked him to share everything he knows at the upcoming Ultimate Event, Oct. 24-27. You'll get an overview on how to profit from offshore opportunities…how to go offshore…and how to obtain dual citizenship and dual passports. To get on the guest list, see: http://www1.internationalliving.com/events/ue1007/ilpost.html

Mr. Bauman also contributed to International Living's "Guide to Visas, Citizenship, and Residency--New Opportunities for Privacy, Freedom, and Ease of Travel."

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