Mayor of Colón Questions Why More than 2,000 Companies are Not Paying Municipal Taxes

Colón:  During the acts of November 5, held at the Colón Art and Culture Center, Mayor Diógenes Galván expressed his concern about the district’s tax situation and the impact this has on the municipality’s financial capacity.  Galván pointed out that the country has “a tax system that unevenly impacts Colón,” and stated that the province faces a unique tax collection situation. He explained that approximately 2,600 companies do not pay municipal taxes, including those in strategic sectors such as ports and the railway.  The mayor emphasized that all these companies operate under national contracts, which limits the municipality’s authority to levy local taxes.

“The natural vehicle for financing a city’s administration is taxes,” he stated, questioning the exceptional nature of the Colón case.  “Colón, in particular, is the only province where this happens; I believe it is the only city in the world where this occurs,” he stated.  Galván warned that this tax structure “compromises the financial strength of an institution that must lead the development, transformation, and growth of its region.” Therefore, he insisted on the need to rethink the municipal revenue model. 

The mayor argued that Colón needs to move towards becoming a municipality capable of generating its own financial independence , but to achieve this, a broader collaboration is needed, with support from representatives of the Municipal Council, the central government, and the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, who was in the province to officiate the events commemorating the consolidation of Panama’s separation from Colombia, which are being celebrated precisely in the province of Colón.