Canada Trade Mission / Opportunities for Your Company in Panama

January 25, 2010 - January 29, 2010
Opportunities for Your Company in Panama
Deadline December 17, 2009

Join other Atlantic Canadian companies and travel to Panama to discover business opportunities for your company.

Following a successful trade mission to Panama in June 2009 with 10 Atlantic Canadian companies, NSB Inc. is currently recruiting companies to participate in a follow-up trade mission to Panama in January 2010.

Key sectors in Panama include building products and construction, information communications technology, environmental industries, and professional and educational services.

For a registration fee of $500 you will receive:

One-on-one business meetings tailored to your business goals;
Ground transportation to and from your business meetings;
High-level networking events to assist you in your entry or expansion into the market.
You are responsible for the cost of round trip airfare, accommodation and meals.

Space is limited. Register today. Fill out the application form and return to Jennifer Dunbar at jdunbar@ nsbi.ca

Cost: $500 (Cheque payable to World Trade Centre Atlantic Canada)
Application Deadline: Friday, December 17, 2009
For additional information:
http://www.novascotiabusiness.com/en/home/events/eventscalendar/details.aspx?ec=bW9kZT01JmV2ZW50PTI4OCZkdD0yMDEwLTAxLTI1
http://ttns.gov.ns.ca/en/home/eventsnews/eventcalendar/eventdetails.aspx?ec=bW9kZT0zJmV2ZW50PTIwMCZkdD0yMDEwLTAxLTI1
Peter Giffin
1-902-424-4212
pgiffin@ nsbi.ca

Panama is popular choice of Canadian Offshore Investments

Canadian Offshore Investments Have Risen Ten-Fold Since 1980s
By by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington
10 June 2003

It was revealed this week that a presentation given by Canadian federal tax officials to the Minister of National Revenue Elinor Caplan some months ago showed that Canadian citizens are investing ten times more money in low tax jurisdictions than they were in the late 1980's.

The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency's presentation, entitled 'Tax Havens, An Evolving Taxation Issue' and shown to government ministers last November, claimed that the total amount invested offshore stood at $44.6 billion in 2001, against a figure of $4.5 billion in 1988, according to the Globe and Mail.

Whilst a spokeswoman for the revenue agency was prepared to accept that the majority of Canadian taxpayers are investing offshore for entirely innocent purposes, tax officials are worried that it is difficult to police such a large volume of such transactions, and fear that not all income from overseas investments is being reported to the domestic tax authorities.

"Whenever there is any kind of tax that's not being paid, it's a serious issue. It's not the offshore transaction itself that's the matter. It's the fact that you are taxable on your worldwide income," spokeswoman Colette Gentes-Hawn told the Globe and Mail, adding: "So you may have all kinds of wonderful reasons to put your money offshore even if it's only to hide it from a spouse or a creditor or whatever, and that's fine as long as you report the income from that money."

Of particular concern to the CCRA is the growth of internet banking, a method that it says many Canadians have chosen to use to transfer funds offshore in recent years. The consequent lack of a clear audit trail in internet transactions is making it harder for tax officials to discover whether the appropriate laws have been complied with.

Also, concern is growing over the rise of consultancy firms that market and promote investment schemes in low tax jurisdictions, a phenonemon that the revenue agency says is also making its life more difficult.

It was highlighted at the presentation that a disproportionately high number of Canadians are investing in certain offshore centers, compared to investments held in the United States, Canada's nearest and largest trading partner.

However, to Walter Robinson of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, this comes as no great surprise. "People say, 'Why would I pay an extra $10,000 when the government is going to [waste it] and not fund health care or build highways or give me better schools?'" he explained.

According to the revenue agency's figures, one of the largest beneficiaries of Canadian money was Barbados, which has seen a rise from $628 million in 1988 to $23.3 billion in 2001. Other popular choices were the Cayman Islands ($234 million in 1988 and $5.5 billion in 2001) and Panama ($14 million in 1988 against $230 million in 2001).

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Authentication of Canada documents for use in Panama

Canada has not signed the 1961 treaty on Apostille, which means that documents issued by Canada authorities (such as birth certificates and police records required for residence visa applications) and contracts signed in front of and notarized by Canada notary, must be authenticated by a Panama consul in Canada. The procedure involves to:

a) have the document notarized in Canada by a Notary Public;

b) have the Notary's signature authenticated by the Lieutenant-Governor of the province in which the Notary is commissioned. Requests for authentication are usually chanelled through the Deputy Provincial Secretary of the province (other province auhtorities are listed here). In Quebec, the Secretary of the Board of Notaries / Chambre de Notaires http://www.cdnq.org/ authenticates these documents. In Ontario, the Official Documents Services (ODS) of the Ministry of Government Services http://www.gov.on.ca/MGS/en/OffDoc/STEL02_046905.html Federal documents must be submitted to the Authentication and Service of Documents Section (JLAC), Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada in Ottawa http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/common/authentication_documents-en.asp / http://www.international.gc.ca/common/authentication_documents-fr.asp;



c) have this signature authenticated by the Panama consular services in Canada (call first to determine the fees and if it is possible to mail them the document with prepaid return postage);

d) arrange for your Panama attorney to have the Panama consul's signature authenticated in Panama by the Panama Ministry of External Affairs.

Please note that only original documents (or certified copies of these), bearing the signature of the competent signing authority may be authenticated.

These are the addresses of Panama Consuls (always subject to changes) listed in the e-government site Panamatramita are:
Embajadora y Enc. Asuntos c.
Nombre: Romy Vásquez
Teléfonos: +(1) 613-236-7177
Tels. Fax: 613-236-5775
Dirección: 130 Albert Street, Suite 300, KIP 5G4 Otawa, Ontario, Canadá
e-mail: pancanem[at]travel.net.com
romyvasquez[at]gmail.com

Vice Cónsul Honoraria
Nombre: Melva Méndez Aizpurua
Teléfonos: +(1) 514-874-1929
Tels. fax: 541-874-1947
Dirección: 1425 Rene Levesque O, Bureau 504, H 3GIT 7 Montreal, (Que) Quebec, Canadá
e-mail: cgpm[at]generation.net

Cónsul General
Nombre: Gilberto Boyd
Teléfonos: +(1) 416-651-2350
Tels. fax: 416-651-3141
Dirección: 881 St. Clair Ave. West 2 Floor Ontario, M6C-IC4 Toronto, Canadá
e-mail: conpantor[at]look.ca

Cónsul General
Nombre: Eduardo Arango
Teléfonos: +(1) 604-682-6128; 604-682-7128
Tels. fax: 604-682-0528
Dirección: 1112 West Pender St. Suite 407, V6E 2S1 Vancouver, B.C. Canadá
e-mail: invo[at]panaconvan.com