Throughout my career as a banker and as an attorney, as well as through experiences with friends and their families, I have noticed that there is no topic more taboo than talking to someone about their death and how they intend to distribute their accumulated assets during their lifetime. It is incredible that, for many, this topic is so difficult to face with an objective mind to leave their estate affairs in order, no matter how small it may be ...
In the corporate world, there is a novel type of enterprise labeled “startup,” which is known for its rapid growth, partly, because of the fact that it is highly related to the general use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) and the latest business trends ...
Morgan & Morgan opened its first offices in The Bahamas since 1991. We created MMG (Bahamas) Ltd. as a corporate service and later on, in 1996, founded MMG Bank & Trust Ltd., which started our financial unit´s successful path into the financial service industry ...
No, it is not a nice Mediterranean dish! The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is the newest piece of legislation from the US which should ensure and enforce the correct declaration and payment of taxes owed by US tax payers. The bill was passed in March 2010 whereupon the proposed regulations were presented on February 8th, 2012. The act should come into effect through several steps from January 1st, 2013 to January 1st, 2017 when full reporting requirements will be in force ...
According to Panamanian law, all employees must have an employment contract with some mandatory content which cannot be replaced by a job offer. Salary and working hours, must be agreed in this employment contract. The salary could be paid by month, fortnight, week, day or hour, but the practice is to negotiate a monthly salary, which must be at least equal to the minimum wage established by law ...
The regulation of Transfer Pricing is one of the mechanisms through which the Directorate General of Revenue (DGI) seeks to avoid the erosion of the tax base. In Panama, it is regulated in the Fiscal Code in its Chapter IX from Article 762-A to 762-Ñ. The obligation on the issue of Transfer Pricing and specifically with the study is generated since the 2011 period ...
What is the CTA? The CTA was enacted on January 1st, 2021 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act to prevent the use of companies to evade anti-money laundering rules or to hide other illegal activities. Under the CTA companies will be required to report information regarding its beneficial owners with a beneficial ownership registry maintained by the United States Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) ...
The United Kingdom (UK) Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act (the Act”) came into force on 15th March, 2022. A new Register of Overseas Entities will be created and held by Companies House. This new Act forms part of the UK government’s strategy to combat economic crime, while making sure that legitimate businesses continue to see the UK as a great place to invest ...
The possibility of buying real estate rests normally on the capacity of an individual or company to acquire debt, reason why credit entities play an essential role in the success of the real estate market. Lately, we have noticed that in addition to the traditional loan guaranteed by a mortgage, there is an offer for loans guaranteed by a security trust ...
What has made corporate stalwarts such as Maersk (shipping), Proctor & Gamble (consumer goods), LG (electronics), Caterpillar (construction equipment), CEMEX (construction materials) , Nike (sports equipment and apparel) and Heineken (breweries), just to name a few, choose to establish their headquarters in this small country with a population of merely 3 ...
In 2004, the Bahamas adopted the figure of the private foundation in what became the first attempt by a Common Law jurisdiction to integrate the vehicle, which has been traditionally associated with civil law jurisdictions. A foundation is the endowment of a patrimony for a specific purpose (object), which is set forth in the document that creates and internally organizes the foundation, called the foundation charter ...
Following the introduction in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) of the Economic Substance (Companies and Limited Partnerships) Act, 2018 (ESA), which became effective on January 1st, 2019, some questioned the sustainability of BVI’s position as a leading international financial centre. While we cannot underestimate those concerns, we believe that there is also evidence that ESA will not have a negative impact on the BVI ...
Since the introduction of Law 32 of 1927, the Law on Corporations of the Republic of Panama has remained virtually unchanged, serving both Panamanians and well as foreigners to put in order, protect and plan the transfer of their patrimony in an orderly fashion ...
The Panamanian Limited Liability Partnership has been a part of Panama’s trade laws since 1916, when the Panamanian Commercial Code was issued. However, during 2009 it was subject to a profound reform in order to adapt it to an always demanding and changing market. As its “younger sister”, the worldwide famous “Sociedad Anonima” (1927), the limited liability partnership shall be filed at the Public Registry ...
I. Legal Framework The banking business in the Republic of Panama is regulated by Decree-Law No. 9 of February 26, 1998 and its amendments (the “Banking Law”). The Banking Law created the Superintendency of Banks (the “Superintendency”), which is the government agency in charge of supervising and overseeing banking operations and the exercise of the banking business in the Republic of Panama ...
On May 19, 2016, the concept of a “Bankruptcy,” as the legal term was defined, ceased to exist under Panamanian law. Law 12 of 2016 (the “Insolvency Law”) entered into force on that date and introduced new proceedings into our legal system. These proceedings are referred to as Reorganization and Liquidation ...
In 2013, Virginia Ginni Rometty - CEO of IBM, said “I would like you to think of big data as the next natural resource that can be to our era what steam, electricity and oil were for the Industrial Age." Probably, you have read or heard: Data is the new oil! Data is the new bacon! Data is the new currency! These analogies have become very popular because data is now considered one of the most important commodities ...
Although Cyprus usually tends to be associated with company formation (in an international tax planning context), Cyprus has an efficient trust legislation in force. The latest legal reform of trusts has enhanced the appeal of Cyprus International Trust (CIT) to both professionals and high net-worth individuals.Legislation and Legal Requirements CITs used to be governed by the International Trusts Law of 1992 ...
An entrepreneur has a lot to consider when starting a new business ...
Civil Aviation Authority: All international flightsshall remain suspended untilJuly 22, 2020. National Immigration Authority: All identifications issued by the National Immigration Authoritythat weredue to expirebetween March 13 and July 31, 2020,willremain validuntilOctober 31, 2020,without incurring in fines or surcharges ...
The Bahamas has passed legislation requiring that certain legal entities carrying on relevant activities have to demonstrate adequate economic substance in said jurisdiction. The beneficial owners of any company or limited partnership incorporated, registered or continued in The Bahamas should be aware of this legislation and consider how they may be affected. The Commercial Entities (Substance Requirements) Act, 2018 (“CESRA”) came into force on December 31st, 2018 ...
Panama, 24 July 2020. By means of Rule JD-01-2020, published in the Official Gazette No. 29076 of 24 July 2020, the Superintendence of Non-Financial Regulated Persons (SNFR) has established a set of rules and obligations imposed to attorneys and accountants whenever they incur in any of the regulated activities under Law 23 of 2015, which relates to prevention of money laundering, financing of arms of mass destruction and financing of terrorism ...
A company’s need for substantial amounts of capital is intensified when looking to grow quickly, or develop an innovative product that will disrupt the market in a meaningful way. This is true to any company, and is especially true to innovative and disruptive startups, which aim at creating new markets, revolutionizing existing ones and prevailing over traditional market participants ...
At the beginning of astartup’slife,the use of financial resources in the most efficient way is of vital importance.It is for this reasonthatthe incentives that a country can provide to an entrepreneurand hisnewlyformed company can potentially determine how and how much that company willgrow ...
Back in 1999, a law was adopted renovating an autonomous regulator and putting in place a modern regime to govern securities and capital markets in Panama, placing the local regulatory environment very much in line with legislation in force in more developed markets such as the United States (including, for example, the creation of the indirect holding system) ...
