{"id":15876,"date":"2026-08-25T06:23:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T11:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/?p=15876"},"modified":"2026-08-24T16:14:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T21:14:42","slug":"more-than-amazon-and-temu-new-brave-digital-tax-plan-targets-all-e-commerce-in-panama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expat-times.com\/panama\/politics-government\/more-than-amazon-and-temu-new-brave-digital-tax-plan-targets-all-e-commerce-in-panama\/","title":{"rendered":"More Than Amazon and Temu – New Brave Digital Tax Plan Targets ALL E-Commerce in Panama"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Panama’s Ministry of Economy and Finance has drafted legislation that would extend the country’s digital tax , 7 percent ITBMS tax (VATax) or even 10% ITBMS, to a sweeping range of online services, from video streaming platforms to business software and automated digital tools. The proposed digital services taxation framework, which officials expect to present before the National Assembly, aims to close what the government describes as a long-standing inequity between local merchants and foreign digital providers operating from outside the country. Yet the true scope of the bill goes far beyond the retail apps that tend to dominate public discussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The Minister of Economy and Finance, Felipe Chapman and digital service and e-commerce tax<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Digital Tax \/ Digital Services Taxation Scope Reaches Beyond Retail Apps<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Consumers have grown accustomed to ordering from platforms like Temu, Shein, and Amazon, but the legislation would capture a much broader universe of digital consumption. The bill would modify and add provisions to the Fiscal Code to expressly recognize the transfer of digital goods and the supply of digital services as taxable activities when they are used, consumed, or leveraged within Panamanian territory. A general rate of 7 percent ITBMS would apply across these transactions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Streaming entertainment sits squarely inside the new framework. Films, series, music, video games, and other multimedia content distributed through subscriptions or online access would all trigger the tax. That puts services like Netflix, Spotify, and Amazon Prime Video within the new scheme whenever their offerings are enjoyed on Panamanian soil. Software licenses, databases, applications, and cloud storage form another major category, one that touches both individual users and companies. Tools offered under the software as a service model, such as Adobe Creative Cloud and Canva Pro, fall under this umbrella.<\/p>\n\n\n\n