A tax relief to taxpayers of the 26 districts of the capital district was granted by the Municipal Council of Panama a few days ago, by approving a moratorium period for the payment of taxes that includes the exemption of 100% of surcharges and interest.
The measure is aimed at all taxpayers who meet the special transitory conditions established and will come into force from this Monday, August 15, until next November 30.
According to the capital’s mayor, José Luis Fábrega, these economic reliefs aim to strengthen businesses so that they do not close, do not turn to informal work and maintain economic reactivation and job creation in the country.
When asked about how much the debt of the Municipality of Panama amounts to, Fábrega declared that “talking about the debt is a lot of money, this moratorium is going to forgive around $22 million. In the year 2020 with all the four moratoriums that were established through municipal agreements were $15.7 million and in 2021, if memory serves me, they were $44 to $46 million, more this year, we could be talking about the fact that the Municipality of Panma has contributed to small and medium-sized businesses not closing, around $84 to $85 millions”.
It should be noted that for the taxpayer to be able to access this benefit, they will have two options: they can make a payment arrangement or cancel the entire debt.
In both scenarios, the surcharges and interests reflected in the account statement will be exempted.
As a minimum requirement, the taxpayer must not maintain Affidavits pending presentation, nor active payment arrangements to date.
According to the delinquency of the taxpayer, the following table will be applied:
The following are excepted from this agreement: other printing, engineering; plan review fee (for each sheet); building permit cardboard; construction tax; occupational building and rebuilding; use of sidewalks for various purposes.
Natural or legal persons who have established businesses or companies that have failed to notify it, as provided in Chapter III, Article 5 of Tax Agreement No. 40, will not be subject to this exemption.
The head of the capital’s commune, who this Monday morning was the flag bearer of the parade of the 503 years of the Panama City Foundation, held in the area of Old Panama, alluded to the single dialogue table, stating that the Government must have a dialogue not only with pharmacists but with all sectors. “The only thing that interests us is that there is peace and social security, that there is job creation, because without employment we are going to move to informality and in informality if the situation is tough, there will be people who out of real desperation could commit crimes, and that is what our mayor’s office is trying to avoid,” he said.
