This is excellent news for the small investor who is looking to move to Panama and build  a B&B.  We are seeing people who want to build a home and operate a B&B and this offers them a huge incentive as the import duties are waived along with real estate taxes on the land and the building as well.  We have several small properties that would make excellent B&B projects both on the coast and here in the mountains.

This in from Prensa

The Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP) has agreed to reduce from one million dollars to $250,000 the minimum amount of investment required to obtain tax incentives when building a hotel outside the district of Panama.

“According to Armando Rodriguez, president of the Association of Small Hotels in Panama (Hoppan), the administrator of the Tourism Authority of Panama (ATP), Solomon Shamah, promised to make changes when discussing the document at the National Assembly’s Commission on Trade and Economic Affairs”, reported Prensa.com.

The proposed law states that tourism projects located outside the district of Panama will be exempt from payment of import duty on the entry of raw materials, fittings and equipment used in the construction and operation of the project until 2020.

Similarly, they are also exempt from paying property tax on land used for tourism and the improvements made to it.