Business leaders want city tax increase suspended

Panama’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (CCIAP)  has sent a letter to the mayor of the District of Panama, José Luis Fábrega, expressing its concern given that the municipality of the capital has not yet accepted the provisional suspension ordered by the Supreme Court on the  Municipal Agreement  No. 142 of Tuesday, August 2, 2022, which establishes an increase in the municipal tax tables.

“At the time of entering the system of the Municipality of Panama to make the payment of the tax, the payment percentages corresponding to the new tax established in Agreement No. 142 still appear, which is contrary to what was discussed in the courtesy room granted to the Mayor Fábrega and his work team before the Board of Directors of our union, on March 1 of this year”, said Marcela Galindo, president of the CCIAP.

During the meeting with the businessmen’s union, the Center for Economic Studies (CEECAM) presented an analysis where the economic sectors that would be impacted by this modification were exposed, including small, medium, and large companies.

 ” The CCIAP requested that the application of these new municipal tax tables be suspended, so that the measure could be widely discussed before a final decision is made, and that credit be granted for the next year to companies that have already paid their taxes on the basis of this Agreement. However, now there is also an order from the Judicial Branch, establishing the suspension, which must be complied with,” Galindo stressed.