One interesting thing about Price Smart is they have stores in various different Latin American countries. In addition with a few exceptions they sell the exact same items in each different country. Since most of the items are imported comparing prices between the Price Smarts in different countries gives you a very good idea of how much duty a country charges on imported items. I just got back from spending a month in Medellin, Colombia where I visited a PriceSmart in Medellin. A couple of months ago I was in the Dominican Republic where I also visited a PriceSmart. Apparently Panama has the lowest duty of the three countries. The second lowest is Colombia with the Dominican Republic being the highest. Although food is cheaper in Colombia than Panama, food imported from the USA in Price Smart is higher in the Medellin store. Some of the food items were Colombian so they were cheaper. Televisions and electronic items were higher in both the Dominican Republic and Colombia. So here in Panama we do benefit from lower duties on imported items. In Panama you pay an additional 7% sales tax but in both Colombia and the Dominican Republic all taxes are included in the price. Still taking the sales tax into account the items are cheaper in Panama. I was able to use my Panamanian PriceSmart card in both the Dominican Republic and in Colombia. I think in general Latin American countries with a lower cost of living charge higher duties on imported items as compared to Panama. A country like Colombia has almost 50 million people so they have quite a bit of manufacturing. Items manufactured in Colombia are cheaper of course. In continuing with the comparison gasoline and diesel are cheaper in Panama. Motorcycles are cheaper in the Dominican Republic where you don't even need a license to drive one. In Colombia your driver's licence is good for 10 years whereas in Panama if you are over 70 you have to renew it every 2 years and pay a doctor for a letter stating you are in good health. A pain. In Panama the jubilado discount is very beneficial especially for airplane tickets. The COPA office in Medellin won't give you a discount but here in Panama they will. The cost of eating out in Panama City is nearly triple the cost of eating out in Medellin. I am sort of a fanatic when it comes to comparing prices as you can see.
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