Big picture
Over the past year, Panama has introduced significant reforms in tax, corporate transparency and regulatory compliance. Key shifts include beneficial ownership rules, stronger oversight of designated non-financial businesses and professions, and updates to transfer pricing.
These measures align Panama with OECD and FATF standards, boosting competitiveness and legal certainty. For international companies and investors, the practical challenge is updating structures and governance to ensure seamless compliance while protecting tax efficiency.
What changed and why it matters
- Beneficial ownership and transparency
- Registration and updates of ultimate beneficial ownership across corporate vehicles.
- Stronger custodial duties and traceability for resident agents and internal compliance.
- Risk: administrative penalties and operational disruption for omissions or stale data.
- DNFBP supervision
- Enhanced supervision of lawyers, accountants, real estate agents and other DNFBPs.
- Reinforced due diligence: KYC/AML policies, risk assessments and timely reporting.
- Risk: compliance gaps that affect business continuity and access to banking.
- Transfer pricing and substance
- Methodological and documentation updates for intragroup transactions.
- Closer scrutiny of comparability, benefit tests and economic substance.
- Risk: tax adjustments, surcharges and interest if files are not robust.
Practical implications for your business
- Structure review: holdings, SPVs and intragroup contracts against new requirements.
- Corporate governance and AML policies refreshed, with risk matrices and audit trails.
- TP documentation with regional lens and defendable benchmarking.
- Remediation plan with milestones, owners and a clear update timetable.
How LAC Legal helps
LAC Legal provides end-to-end support to adapt corporate structures to Panama’s new framework, assessing risks and optimizing tax benefits without compromising compliance.
Our deliverables
- Compliance GAP assessment and risk mapping.
- AML/KYC policy implementation and operating manuals.
- Transfer pricing documentation and technical defense.
- UBO register updates and governance.
- Executive training and support during audits or inspections.
Next steps
- Schedule a fast 30-point assessment
- Receive a prioritized action plan with timelines and KPIs.
- Execute with our legal and tax team until issues are closed.
Is your company ready? Email lac@lacgrp.com for a confidential consultation.