It appears that officials in Panama has announced that they will not confirm the increase approved for permits for projects whose values exceed $1 million, until there is dialogue with the construction sector.

Regarding the controversy over the recent decision to increase municipal taxes for building permits, and about which the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (Capac) has said it had no prior knowledge, and that this measure is being taken “at the wrong time” the mayor said that the city council took the decision to give the green light to the measure, although his administration had suggested presenting the proposal to bring the issue to the Committee to discuss it.

The official stressed that it is not in a position of intransigence, as expressed in an interview with the Panamanian television Chanel Telemetro, although he said that his administration itself had told the Capac that what is paid in the district of Panama for these permits is very little.

He noted that in the district of San Miguelito, in the capital, and in the district of Colon, the amount paid is 2%, while in the district of Panama, for works above US $1 million, 0.25% is paid. But he clarified that he had also informed the Capac that they can not talk about  increasing what is charged for permits if these procedure are delayed by one year, or two years, which is totally unjustified.

“The new rates, which have increased between 11% and 328%” do affect the cost of housing, as building permits for housing are processed in stages,” said the president of the Capac.