From A member, anyone care to assist?
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Hi Ning,
I am new residing here and not a poster on Ning. I am hoping you can assist me. I have a corporation ( not attached yet to a property) and I recently noticed I have not filed the annual dues for the past 2 years.
I went to a local lawyer and he wanted to charge me $150 service fee per year and said there are new laws and fines for delinquent corps. not paid annually.
He said it was $150 per year government fine. I am trying to get help from anyone who knows the truth and not a lawyer who is a possible opportunist.
Why doesn't the original lawyer provide these services and contact me? They never emailed me back. ( A panama city attorney).
Any suggestions of who to ask?
(name withheld)
Replies
I would probably have responded to Paul and Amanda if they hadn't blocked replies to their comments. That's been a very common ploy on Ning in the past for people who want to control conversations and avoid facts. I'm not sure why I even bothered to read Ning today since I remember how easy it is to abuse and manipulate conversation on here.
Y'all do whatever you think is right, but I hope some of you will heed the warning and investigate deeper. I'm heading north as soon as I get my delinquent corporate income taxes paid.
Woody, I did not block replies. It must have something to do with the reply format that I am unaware of. Good luck with finalizing everything, and good luck with your move.
Presume what? My application for Paz y Salvo to transfer title of my property was denied until the corporate income filings are completed and penalties for late payment get paid. I'm all ears for anyone who has had experience with this, but so far there I've just heard from the usual Ning critics and haven't seen an iota of constructive comment.
It's called gringo bingo. Too bad you didn't take our advice from NUMEROUS years living here and owning corps, and actually consult more than one (or even two) attorneys. Good luck!
$150 seems very reasonable, it is usually higher on average.
It is your sole responsibility to know the laws of whichever country you open a corporation. In the US every year you must file your corporation documents and pay your renewal fees, same in most of the countries, so I do not see why you would assume that your corporation would be OK and valid, no taxes filed for 2 years.
A CPA can file your corporate taxes with 0 activity. Must be done by a CPA, there is a fine for not filing. A lawyer would not be able to do this for you, a CPA would.
Pretty much expect to pay $450 per year on average to have a corporation in Panama
Corporate taxes are $300/year (where did you get the figure $450?). You can get the tax reporting forms and pay the tax (cash only) at Casa de Ahorra (a credit union with an office in Boquete). Turn left when you come to the park, go down about a block, CdeA is on the right). Check the box "Tasa Unica" and copy the other information from your first tax form. Your lawyer will have filed the first one, so you should have it.
Meanwhile you need to straighten out those two years of non-payment. Only your lawyer can do this. $150 for this is the typical rate. If you just have a corporation that will not conduct business (e.g. just hold your property), you do not need a CPA to pay the annual tax. You can do this yourself.
The fees plus penalties and lawyers fees, usually run you $450.
You do need a CPA for your annual tax returns even if you have $0 activity. It is the best and most effective way, especially for a person who is not fluent in Spanish and likely has no RUC or NIT to do this
You do not have to file an annual tax return on a corporation if you have $0 activity. Careful, you might give someone a heart attack with misinformation ;)
I understand that this thread has been dead for close to 2 years, but Paul if you are still here, do you back up what you said?
No income = no need to file but that is not what we are being told.
Appreciate anyone’s take on this!