From the first half of next year, all professional people will have to use the mechanism that has the same validity as paper documents.
This was announced by Carlos Vargas, CEO of Taxation. The goal "... is to have a tool to verify professional people's income, which is important for determining income tax (which is applied on the difference between income and expenses)", reported Nacion.com.
The evaluation program for the system will involve 100 professionals who will start using electronic invoices.
Starting today, the Directorate General of Taxation is launching its pilot scheme for digital invoices which aims to increase the control of data, improving tax collection and reducing the use of paper.
According to Carlos Vargas, chief of the Directorate General of Taxation (DGT), "we are presenting the application for free.
The Tax Authority is investigating extending the requirement to use digital media for invoicing for small taxpayers.
The Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) said the matter is under review and that bill will have to be drawn up.
Currently only large and medium taxpayers are required by law to use digital invoices.
Adela Mena, from the consulting firm Docutec, a company authorized to "provide electronic billing services, said:" It is expected that by the end of 2013 small taxpayers will be included. "
The project will begin with a pilot program involving volunteer taxpayers from the professional sector.
Patricia Castillo, from the Department of Taxation, said the goal is to move to the implementation phase in the first four months of 2013, and upon which the participant base will be gradually expanded.
She added that electronic invoices "are a digital document similar to that used by telephone companies for their customers detailing the collections for cellular services", according to elfinancierocr.com.
With European assistance, Panamanians will have access to government services online for free, through 200 interactive kiosks connected to the ‘Paperless Panama’ program.
A statement by the Presidency of Panama reads:
Panama Foundation signs technology agreement with European Foundation
The Foreign Ministry of the Republic and the European Foundation for Information Society and eGovernment have signed an agreement which will make Panama the first country in Latin America to offer online government services for free to the public.