Panama: Exoneration of Property Tax


News from Panama / Wednesday, August 16th, 2017

The government will be presenting a bill in the Assembly that raises the value of housing that can be exempted from payment of property tax up to $120 thousand.

From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy and Finance:  

The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) presented a bill that establishes the most significant reduction of property tax in the last 40 years.

The project, approved by the Cabinet Council, establishes the Family Tax Patrimony (Patrimonio Familiar Tributario or PFT in Spanish), through which greater fiscal equity is achieved as well as protection of the family’s main and permanent home.

The PFT generates a tax benefit and takes as reference the concept of Family Patrimony established in the Family Code.

The initiative establishes that the main and permanent house of the family, whose value is up to 120 thousand balboas, will not incur property tax nor will it be subject to re-evaluation by the State. Previously the exoneration applied to houses worth up to 30 thousand balboas.

There is also a significant reduction in rates for properties that are not the main family home or that are intended for commercial purposes. 
The reduction involves rates ranging from 0.00% (properties of 30 thousand balboas) to 1.25% (for those whose value is 250 thousand balboas) when it is not the main and permanent dwelling. 

The current property tax regime makes no distinction between family dwellings and commercial properties. 

The current rates are high and establish rates ranging from 1.75% to 2.10%. 

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