Saint Mamas: saint of the tax avoiders

Yes, for those interested in tax law, there is such a person as the saint of the tax avoiders.
Saint Mamas was a monk living in a cave near the town of Morphou. Once he was arrested by the Ottoman authorities because he was refusing to pay tax, refused to pay his taxes because he was a man who had zero income. The governor ordered his arrest but as he was being taken to prison, a lion leapt out from behind a tree onto a lamb that had been grazing in a field. Mamas commanded the lion to stop the attack; he then picked up the lamb and mounted the lion. The sight of the hermit riding into town astride a lion sufficiently impressed the authorities that he was then exempt from paying any taxes. St Mamas gave the sheep as a gift to the judge.
In Cyprus he is popularly known as the patron saint of tax avoiders and his day is celebrated the end of September. A town is also called Ayios Mamas in his honor.
So the next time you're at tax court....

Pensionado / Rentista Visas #2

This is the official list of requirements, as posted in http://www.migracion.gob.pa/eng/service_popup.php?id=52 on October 15, 2007:

Indefinite Residence Permit in capacity as Pensioned Tourist To grant an indefinite residence permit in capacity as Pensioned Tourist. Who may request this Permanent Residence Permit? A person retired from a foreign government or private company earning a permanent minimum income of Five Hundred American Dollars ($500.00) or its equivalent. If the person coming with dependents, an additional One Hundred (U$100.00) monthly is obligatory per each dependant. The law grants, in addition to the indefinite residence permit, tax franchises to import households or personal items once, up to the total amount of $10,000.00 (Ten Thousand Dollars), and an automobile for personal use every two years. Note: All foreign citizens, that approach the National Directorate of Immigration and Naturalization to perform any procedure, must be previously registered in the Migratory Movement Section, presenting the following requirements: Two (2) carnet size photos Copy of the pages of the passport that contain the general information about the petitioner and the page that shows the stamp of the last entry to our country. Pay fee for registration. Complete the registration form of the Sworn Statement. In the case that the request includes dependents, the requirements for the Immigrant Visa as a Resident’s Dependent must be included. All documents issued abroad, must be properly annotated or authenticated by the Republic of Panama Embassy or Consulate at the country that issued them and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama. All documents issued abroad that are not written in the Spanish Language, must be translated by an Official Public Translator recognized by the Ministry of Government and Justice or Ministry of Education. All foreign residents, temporary visitors or with an application being processed, that wishes to go abroad and re-enter the country, requires from the National Directorate of Immigration and Naturalization a MULTIPLE VISA BEFORE LEAVING THE COUNTRY. The omission of this procedure will incur a One Hundred Balboa fine (B/100.00). Countries that require a Consulted Visa, have to present with the petition a Certification that authorizes them to apply for a temporary residence visa, issued by the Department of Consulted Visas of the National Directorate of Immigration and Naturalization. The Sworn Declaration is a form supplied by the National Directorate of Immigration and Naturalization. This must be signed by the interested party and be completed in full. Providing false information may lead to penal and legal responsibilities and the negation of the requested visa or the annulment, if already granted. The foreigners who are under age don’t have to fill out the form, but their parents or tutor must give the requested information, although not under the gravity of oath. The documentation must be presented COMPLETE and in the following order. Small documents such as, birth certificates, health certificates, receipts, etc., must be added to a legal size paper and both faces of the abovementioned documents must be clearly seen, in order to be properly received. REQUIREMENTS: Foreigners: At the presentation of the documents, a three months temporary carnet is issued and at the time of the approval of the request an indefinite residence carnet is issued. The costs of the carnets will be paid by the interest party. Power of attorney and request by means of a lawyer: The Power of Attorney must be presented before a Public Notary or personally before the Directorate of Migration and Naturalization by the visa applicant ( if it is only one person) or by all the over age components of the family group (head of family and dependents). This must show the complete general information of the interested parties, including full name and parent’s nationality. In addition, it must specify all the general information of the lawyer of the applicant and dependents, including office’s address, domicile at the Republic of Panama, telephone numbers and e mail. Also the complete information of attached checks must be given (check number, drawing bank’s name, date and amount). List and identify the attached documents, as well as expressing the legal grounds in which you base the petition Health Medical Certificate […issued within the three (3) months prior to the presentation date (it must have the date, signature and seal with the doctor name, including the code and register number of the physician)]. Penal and police record issued by the previous country of residence of the petitioner within the last two years, (This document will not be necessary, if the interested party has resided in Panama for the last two or more years on a consecutive time. Passport issued by country of origin [...with a minimum of six months validity time and a complete photocopy of the passport, duly authenticated before a Public Notary]. Two (2) Carnet size photos [...up dated, of every interested party, (no hats or veils and facing front] Document that certifies, by foreign government, international entities or private companies, the retired condition of the petitioner, and that the interested party earns a permanent income no less than Five Hundred American dollars or its equivalent ($500.00) per month. If there are dependents, the additional income has to be One Hundred Dollar ($100.00) monthly, per dependant. ( If the certification is in a foreign currency, a certification from the Panama National Bank stating the equivalent amount in dollars.) If petitioner is retired from a private company, He (She) has to present the document that certifies by means of the authorized authority that the company is still operating (equivalent to the Panamanian Public Register Certificate) and attach the last five supporting documents of the pension receipt. If the money is received by bank’s transfer, copy of the bank statement from the bank, have to be presented. Personal Background Sworn Declaration [… duly signed by the interested party and by an authorized official of the National Directorate of Immigration and Naturalization or whoever receives the petition. (Form supplied by the National Directorate of Immigration and Naturalization).] An extra set of photocopies of all the documentation presented. Legal Base: Law No. 9 of June 24 of 1987 and the Executive Decree No. 62 of August 4 of 1987 Observations: No observations registered Opening hours to the public: Monday through Friday: from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Address: 29th Street and Cuba Avenue Phone Number: (507) 507-1800 Copyright © 2007. National Directorate of Immigration and Naturalization. All rights reserved.

For rentistas wanting the 2nd passport, the requirements vary as follows:

Temporary Residence Visa as an Independent Retired

To grant a Temporary Residence Visa as an Independent Retired. Who may request a Temporary Residence Visa with an Independent Retired Status? All those foreigners that earn a minimum monthly income of Seven Hundred Fifty (US$750.00), that proceed exclusively from the interest of a five year period time deposit at “Banco Nacional de Panama” (National Bank of Panama). The petitioner can bring his (her) dependents into the country (Are considered as such, the parents, spouse or children under legal age or those who are of legal age but under 25 years, single and without children that are attending regular studies, on a Study Centre duly recognized by the Ministry of Education. The permit is granted for five extendable years and a special Panamanian passport is issued for the same length of time. The retired petitioner can invest money at the Panamanian Territory, previous to the compliance of the requirements, but will not be able to work within the territory. Certification from “Banco Nacional de Panama” (National Bank of Panama) confirming that petitioner earns an income of Seven Hundred and Fifty dollars (B/.750.00) in monthly interest, that proceed exclusively from a five year period Time Deposit, mortgage free or that is not used as a collateral. Photocopy of the Time Deposit certificate or contract duly authenticated by “Banco Nacional de Panamá” (National Bank of Panamá).

When filing along with a spouse or a child, more paperwork must be filed. A certificate of birth for the child, and/or certificate of marriage for the spouse, as required for the Immigrant Visa as a Resident’s Dependent.

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Immigrant's Visa and Residence Permit as Resident's Relative Dependent Status

When filing along with a spouse or a child, more paperwork must be filed. After registering under the Filiación procedure, a certificate of birth for the child, and/or certificate of marriage for the spouse, must be submitted as required for the Immigrant Visa as a Resident’s Dependent http://www.migracion.gob.pa/eng/service_popup.php?id=4:

Immigrant's Visa and Residence Permit as Resident's Relative Dependent Status

To grant Immigrant’s Visa and Residence Permit as Resident’s Relative Dependent Status.

Who may apply to this visa and its correspondent residence permit?

The only persons that may apply to this visa are the ones that comply with the relationship degree established by Article 2 of Executive Decree 52 of February 19 of 2003 which are:

a. Parents of the principal petitioner.

b. Spouse

c. Single children under 18 years of age.

Only by exception, the National Director of Immigration and Naturalization may authorize the inclusion as a resident’s relative dependent, children under 25 years of age, single, without children, according to the established policies of the Family Code. Students must comply with the regulation of attending studies in a regular basis in an Educational Centre recognized at the Ministry of Education. Additionally, it must be taken in account that the resident’s dependent is not authorized to work in the country and the violation of this prohibition will cause the cancellation of the Resident permit.

Letter in which the Resident accepts responsibility for the relative claimed as dependent, and assume all the obligations of providing the petitioner with food, house, health, education (if this is the case) and other general expenses, including the commitment of assuming the repatriation expenses, if it is necessary. This letter must include the telephone numbers, home address and place of work where the responsible resident can be located.

Relationship’s evidence [.Marriage certificate or Birth Certificate, according to the case]

Resident’s economic evidence of solvency: [.The resident can prove the mentioned solvency in the following manners: a) An updated and authenticated Tax Income Form issued by the Internal Revenue Service including the payment receipt. The Resident must have a minimum monthly gross income of Five Hundred “Balboas” plus an additional Seventy Five “Balboas” (B/. 75.00) per each dependent. b) Updated work certification letter and the Social Security payment stubs, showing the minimum monthly gross income of Five Hundred “Balboas” plus the additional Seventy Five “Balboas” per each dependent c) Updated Bank reference letter, only if a less than one year time deposit is presented, and the interest earned on such time deposit is for a minimum monthly income of Five Hundred “Balboas” (B/. 500.00) plus the additional Seventy Five “Balboas” (B/. 75.00) per each dependent.

Photocopy of the one year carnet or photocopy of the personal identity card of the responsible resident authenticated by the Civil Registry.

A Petitioner of legal age and under twenty five (25) years old [. . . must provide: a. Study certifications of approved institutions by the Ministry of Education that confirm the regular university student’s condition. The certification must supply the Ministry of Education resolution that approved the above mentioned educational centre (except if there is the University of Panama or the Technological University of Panama. b) Provide proof of the civil status (Single’s certificate). C) Penal and Police record for the last two years, from the country of origin.

Legal Base:

Law-Decree 16 of 1960 and its amendments. Executive Decree 52 of February 19 of 2003.

Registration of Foreign Residents before a Visa Application

Whenever a foreigner applies for an extension of his tourist visa, or changes his tourist visa to an immigrant or another resident status, he must appear before the "Movimiento Migratorio" Section of the Immigration office in order to have a print of his/her thumb registered and provide personal information - a process called in Spanish "Filiación".
In addition, all foreign documents provided must comply with these requirements.

• All foreign citizens, that approach the Directorate of Immigration to perform any procedure, must be previously registered in the Migratory Movement’s Section, whereto has to fulfil the following requirements:

1. Present two (2) carnet size photos
2. Present a copy of the page of the passport that containing the general information about him or (her) and copy of the page that shows the seal of the last entry to our country.
3. Payment of the $1.00 registration fee.
4. Complete the register form of the Sworn Statement

• In the case that the request includes dependents, the requirements for the Immigrant’s Visa as a Resident Dependent must be included.
  
• All documents issued abroad, must be properly annotated or authenticated by the Republic of Panama Embassy or Consulate at the country that issued them, and by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama.
  
• All documents issued abroad that are not written in the Spanish Language, must be translated by an Official Public Translator certified by the Ministry of Government and Justice.
  
• All foreign residents, temporary visitors or alien citizens present in the country with an application being processed that wishes to go abroad and re-enter the country, requires from the National Directorate of Immigration and Naturalization a MULTIPLE INCOMING VISA BEFORE LEAVING THE COUNTRY. The omission of this procedure will incur a One Hundred Balboa fine (B/100.00).
  
• One month before the termination of the one year Residence Permit that is granted with the Immigrant Visa, the petitioner may apply for the Permanent Residence, with the right to apply for a Panamanian Cedula (I.D. Card)
  
• All those nationalities that require a Consulted Visa must present with any request, a VALID VISA CERTIFICATION TO PROCESS A RESIDENCE, issued by the Consulted Visa Department of the National Directorate of Immigration and Naturalization.
  
• The Sworn Declaration must be made in the form supplied by the Directorate of Immigration and Naturalization. This form must be signed by the interested party and be completed in full. To furnish false information carries penal and legal responsibilities and the refusal of the requested visa or its cancellation if already granted. Under age foreigners don’t have to complete this form, but parents or tutors must provide the requested information, although not under the gravity of oath.

The documentation must be COMPLETE at the time of presentation, and in the expressed following order. Small documents such as, birth certificates, health certificates, receipts, etc, must be added to a legal size paper and both faces of the abovementioned documents must be clearly seen, in order to be properly received.

Panama Attorney Participates in Trusts & Estates Panel

Attorney Alvaro Aguilar participated in a panel discussion on trust & estate laws before members of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) International Law and Practice Section.
Panama City, Panama, September 29, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Lombardi, Aguilar & Garcia (http://www.laglex.com/) attorney Alvaro Aguilar spoke at a panel on trust & estate laws before members of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) International Law and Practice Section (www.nysba.org/ilp) and Peruvian attorneys attending its Fall meeting.
Attorneys Michael Galligan of Phillips Nizer LLP and Glenn Fox of Alston & Bird served as co-chairs of the panel. Perspective on the applicability of Peru, Argentina and Panama law were provided by Alfredo Vidal of Miranda & Amado, Diego Fissore of G Breuer and Mr Aguilar, respectively.
The panel dealt with a practical case of a US-Latin American couple with residence and investments in two countries. Panama law provides alternatives such as corporations, trusts and charitable foundations for asset protection, probate, estate planning and succession purposes.

About Alvaro Aguilar
Alvaro Aguilar is a partner at Lombardi Aguilar & Garcia and practises in the areas of corporate taxation, real estate and intellectual property matters.
Mr Aguilar has advised multinational and local clients in real estate purchases and development, international mergers and acquisitions, tax planning, real estate investment funds, joint ventures, trusts, foundations, software licensing, e-commerce, and electronic transfer of funds. Recent transactions include the purchase of real estate by a US retailer, purchase by a US finance entity of a stake in a Central American bank, tax arrangements and sale of a property to a Panama-US joint venture and structuring of a property management joint venture for US investors.
He graduated from Universidad Santa Maria law school in Panama and earned his LLM in International Trade & Banking from Washington College of Law in Washington, DC.
About Lombardi Aguilar & Garcia

Lombardi Aguilar & Garcia was created as an alternative for clients worldwide who seek fast, innovative and effective solutions to their legal problems. The firm currently provides services to individual and corporate clients in Panama as well in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Its partners maintain a commitment with professional ethics and social responsibility by participating in the board of directors of groups such as the Panama Bar Association, the German Chamber of Commerce, the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) of Panama and the Association of Chinese-Panamanian Professionals.
The firm centers its law practice in private client services and asset protection (Private Interest Foundations, Trusts), business structures (Offshore Corporations), tax planning, real estate and e-commerce. It also advices in areas of Law such as Corporate, Commercial, Intellectual Property, Maritime, Tax, and Immigration Law as well as related litigation.

For more information, contact +507 340-6444, e-mail aaguilar (at) nysbar.com, or visit: Lombardi Aguilar & Garcia http://www.laglex.com/

Full text is available in http://www.pr.com/press-release/71854

Panama Immigration director faces the music

The new director of Immigration Clovis Sinisterra held a September 19 meeting with attorneys and frequent users of visa services. The official version of the meeting in http://migracion.gob.pa/esp/vernoticia.php?idnoticia=179&tipo=1 says that about 100 people attended.

Among the many revealing situations disclosed by those attending:

- Visas applied for from Bocas are procesed with delay,
- People attending the Panama office must get a ticket at 6AM, which means applicants flying in from out of town after 10AM may have to come another day,
- Investor Visas are denied because companies have non-par value shares, even if a CPA affidavit and a tax return confirms that the company has a paid-in capital above US$40K,
- Requirements in www.migracion.gob.pa are always outdated, which puts attorneys on the spot regularly because clients rely on advice which will be outdated by the time foreign documents are authenticated,
- A lack of staff is evident, with photographs stopping when the single official taking pctures is out for lunch,
- Multiple complaints about the lack of transparency in the Authorized Visas for Far East and Indian applicants. There is no clear requirement to prove the solvency of Authorized Visas, so applications by billionaires from those regions may be rejected,
- Legal Counsel at Immigration is never in to attend queries of attorneys,
- Philipinos applying for Investor Visa have their application copy stamped but never get a 3-month card, being subject to arrest and deportation,
- Documents filed from the David office are lost,
- Applicants from the David office are stuck with blue cardboard cards for months, without receiving their final visa,
- Naturalization applications were paralized because they were addressed to "Señor Ministro" (male) when a woman was appointed as Minister,
- Attorneys complained that Authorized Visas which were stuck for months became "unstuck" after the applicant spoke to "a friend of the President".
- A definitive residence visa holder was arrested for 3 months because his visa approval was not sent on time to the Electoral Tribunal for the "E-" cedula to be issued,
- During a change of residence status, it can take 5 months to take the original wedding and birth certificates from one application to another,

The Director himself confessed that he has been watching the situation of the numbered tickets at 6AM and considered this brings the urgency of a new building which has been promised by the Administration from last year. He pointed out the Authorized Visas are rejected by the National Security Council at the Presidency, not by Immigration. He also confirmed that because of several Visa Suppression Agreements signed by Panama, tourists from Japan and some European Union countries can stay with a tourist visa for 90 days, despite the 30 day reduction made by the Legislature.

Kudos to the director for holding the meeting. Now let's hope that work gets done at the Cabinet level for the actual changes required.

CNNMoney.com: Panama among top six hottest markets for 2007

Hottest foreign second home markets for 2007

Here's where Americans will be turning to this year for second homes abroad.

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer

January 20 2007: 9:53 AM EST

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Americans have never taken much to living abroad, at least not to the same degree the British have. Some 5.5 million Brits, about 10 percent of that nation's total population, now live as expatriates, with 200,000 more every year.
For Americans, though, most other countries were too far away to tempt us. Some Yanks did buy second homes in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, but the majority were content to shop within the nation's borders.
That's changing.
Today foreign lands are drawing more Americans than ever. According to State Deparment estimates, some 6.6 million Americans live abroad, a larger number than the Brits claim, but, at 2.2 percent, still a smaller percentage of the U.S.'s total 300 million population.
There are many reasons for the big build up. More Americans work for multi-national companies, which often take them for long stints overseas. And foreign vacation travel is booming as well. This means a lot more exposure to other countries and cultures.

Most popular international second-home markets

7 Up-and-coming destinations

Top international markets for second-home buyers from Tom Kelly, author of "Cashing in on a Second Home in Mexico."

By Les Christie CNNMoney.com staff writer

3 of 7

Panama

According to second home buying expert and writer, Tom Kelly, Panama has retained some of it formerly large American presence after the handing over of the Canal more than seven years ago.

Kelly says that, unlike the other hot spots for ex-pats, Panama's second home market is dominated by investors rather than people buying for retirement or vacation homes. That's despite it being named by International Living magazine as the best place for Americans to retire or live abroad.

Panama City is economically dynamic, a banking and shipping center with a diverse population where English is commonly spoken. But the place of choice for many Americans is Boquete, high up in the volcanic mountains. The climate there is ideal with warm days and gentle nights. There are masses of flowers everywhere, one reason it's known as the land of eternal spring.

Full text in http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/18/real_estate/hottest_foreign_second_home_markets/index.htm