Continuation of the series on the retiree discount, following Part 3+1: "Bill 226 — the story isn't over yet" (September 11, 2026)

In Part 3+1 we warned that the story wasn't over: President José Raúl Mulino had said publicly that he doubted the fiscal sustainability of Bill 226. Nine days later he made his decision. On Sunday, September 20, 2026, the Presidency announced that the bill had been vetoed in its entirety, "for reasons of inconvenience and unconstitutionality." In his letter to the President of the Assembly, Shirley Castañedas, he acknowledged that the bill pursued a legitimate social goal but said some of its provisions conflicted with legal and constitutional norms. According to La Estrella de Panamá, the Executive cited, among other reasons, the lack of a fiscal impact analysis and possible effects on micro and small businesses.

What the veto means for your lodging today

A total veto means that none of what we described in Part 3 took effect. Law 6 of 1987, as amended by Law 92 of 2020, remains in force. In practice:

1. The discount is still mandatory. Hotels, motels and guesthouses must grant a minimum discount on their regular prices of 50% Monday to Thursday and 30% Friday to Sunday.
2. There is still no way to recover it. Since Law 92 of 2020, the 100% tax credit applies only to restaurants and fast-food chains (items 4 and 5 of Article 1). Lodgings currently have no mechanism to deduct or offset the discount they grant, as we explained in Part 2.
3. Hostels are still not named in the law. The current text mentions only "hotels, motels and guesthouses"; explicitly adding hostels was part of the vetoed bill.
4. The promotional-rate rule does not exist. The new Article 1A, which required posting the regular rate next to the promotional one and granting an additional 10% off the promotional rate, did not take effect either.

The new attempt: Bill 256

In early October, Deputy Javier Sucre presented Bill 256 to the full Assembly. It again amends Law 6 of 1987, with the adjustments that came out of the meetings the Executive convened between the Government, the Assembly, retirees and the private sector. According to press reports, the new text prioritizes medicines (with a 25% discount), medical care, mobility items such as wheelchairs, canes and walkers, and basic services such as electricity, water, garbage collection, telephone and internet.

For the hotel sector, the most relevant point so far is what does not change. La Estrella de Panamá reported that tourism and hotel benefits were revised after those meetings, and La Prensa quoted Guillermo Cortés, coordinator of the Movimiento de Jubilados Mundos, who said it was agreed to keep the discounts for hotels, cruises and technical services unchanged. La Prensa also reports that the bill includes a tax credit equal to 100% of income tax for taxpayers who meet its conditions, transferable to third parties and applicable from January 1, 2027, plus reimbursements for micro-enterprises accredited with Ampyme.

What we cannot yet confirm is whether that tax credit will expressly cover lodgings, as Article 6 of the vetoed bill did. Published reports don't say, and we have not yet seen the full text of Bill 256. We will update this article as soon as we have it.

A race against the calendar

Bill 256 needs three debates in the Assembly before returning to the Executive for signature, and its sponsors hope to have it signed by October 31 at the latest. The ordinary session ends on October 29. If the bill is not approved before then, it would have to wait for the next session, which begins in January.

What owners should do now

1. Keep applying the discount under current law (50% Monday to Thursday, 30% Friday to Sunday, off the regular price). The veto did not remove it.
2. Keep a detailed, dated record of every retiree discount you grant: name, ID, dates, regular rate and discount applied. If the new bill restores a tax credit for lodgings, that documentation will be the basis for claiming it.
3. Follow Bill 256 over the coming days. We will, and we will publish any changes.

Sources:

1. "Mulino veta los proyectos de ley 226 y 594 y los devuelve a la Asamblea" — Mi Diario, Sept. 20, 2026
2. "Mulino veta proyecto de jubilados y nueve artículos del reglamento de la Asamblea" — Panamá América, Sept. 20, 2026
3. "Presentan nuevo proyecto de descuentos para jubilados tras veto del Ejecutivo" — La Estrella de Panamá, Oct. 5, 2026
4. "Descuentos a jubilados: un nuevo proyecto llega a la Asamblea tras el veto presidencial" — La Prensa, Oct. 11, 2026
5. "Jubilados insisten. Presentan un nuevo anteproyecto de reformas a la Ley 6" — Destino Panamá, Oct. 6, 2026
6. Part 3+1 of this series: "Bill 226 — the story isn't over yet"