There is a certain amount of glamor and notoriety associated with hoards of cash stowed safely away in secret Swiss bank accounts. Just think of the life one can live with this option at their disposal!
But when searching for your offshore tax haven, there’s another player to consider just south of the good ‘ole USA: Panama. Since 1970 when the Panama National Banking Commission was formed by Cabinet Decree, tough banking secrecy laws were developed that challenge Switzerland’s long time hold on this crown.
There are several primary reasons Panama has been able to develop layers of privacy for bank clients : 1.) Panama has no tax treaties with any other countries; 2.) Panama applies discretionary compliance to the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty within diplomatic circles; 3.) bank secrecy laws are found within legal statues of Cabinet Decree 238, Panamanian Commercial Code and Panamanian Criminal Code; 4.) Panamanian banks do not issue numbered bank accounts; and, 5.) Panama only allows attorneys to form corporations, and attorneys in Panama are able to form anonymous Bearer Share corporations that hide natural persons behind the corporate veil.
For more information, check out Panama Bank Secrecy Laws .