Royalties on mineral holdings in Guatemala will be imposed on three levels related to the base value of the extracted material.
According to Mario Marroquin, president of the Union of Mining and CEO of the company Montana Exploradora (main extractor of gold and silver in Guatemala), precious metals are those with the highest and there are other lower rates for base metals and non-metallic minerals.
The Tax Authority of Guatemala is working on a draft agreement which will introduces changes to the regulation of the real estate sector.
With the new rules the state agency seeks to recover about $89 million in uncollected taxes, a product of capital gains from the increase in the value of a property or the sale.
"The aim is to regularize the payment of tax on undeclared assets in this sector in the last four years." We have done the draft agreement and are proceeding to final review, where we will establish how much the rate will be. There is a prior agreement that is will be 3 % to 5% of assets in securities or undeclared real estate ', highlighted Miguel Gutierrez, head of the Tax Authority (SAT). ", according to an article in Siglo21.com.gt
Guatemala has created the Trade Transparency Unit in order to exchange information with U.S. Customs to detect illegal activity.
The Tax Authority (SAT) in Guatemala will exchange data with the Department of Homeland Security in the United States, said Miguel Gutierrez, head of the SAT.
To that end, the Trade Transparency Unit (UTC) has been created, to exchange information with U.S. customs better control trade.
U.S. currency rose last week after having been at its lowest value for the last five years.
The upward trend that the dollar began showing last week against the quetzal, could continue in the coming months as it seems that factors that pushed the dollar down are no longer present in the Guatemalan economy.
One contributing factor is the inflow of foreign exchange from exports, which increased during the harvest and the months of higher coffee sales, but the coffee year is coming to an end, so the influx of dollars could start to decline in the coming months, relieving the pressure and creating a drop in the value of U.S. currency compared to the quetzal.
The Government presented Congress the Credit Card bill.
The bill if approved by Congress, will regulate the contracts, demanding to provide the given credit limit, interest rates, fees and charges which apply. The institution issuing the credit card must provide the customer a copy of the contract.
"It also states that issuers should verify the ability of people who apply for the card to pay such debt and in case the user cannot pay, he may request to restructure the debt," stated the article in Elperiodico.com.
In the first quarter of the year consumption was up 4.7% and investment fell 11.6% relative to the same period of 2009.
The data form part of analysis conducted by the Guatemalan central bank, Banguat, on the economy's performance.
Economists consulted indicate their concern about the subject. Manuel Pérez Lara, ex member of the Monetary Committee comments that, "this is very dangerous because it is investment that drives improvements in the quality of life, productivity and development, not consumption," reports Prensalibre.com.
In a strange unanimity, government officials agree with independent economic analysts: dollarization is inconvenient for Guatemala.
That the Guatemalan Central Bank argues against dollarization is no surprise for anyone, as its very reason for existence is questioned with it. Accordingly, its president María Antonieta de Bonilla stated that the concept has more disadvantages than advantages.
The global economic crisis forced Guatemala to increase its debt, but the country must now try to reduce it.
Economists are worrying for Guatemala’s foreign and domestic debt levels. “Eventually, it will be unsustainable, and the country won’t be able to pay it back. It will not happen right now, but in the medium term”, said Miguel Gutiérrez, analyst at Central American Business Intelligence.
Managed by CABI and financed by the Soros Foundation, the Mirador Monetario will contribute to transparency in the Financial System of Guatemala.
Managed by Central American Business Intelligence, the mission of the Mirador Monetario is "to be the leading source of information and education regarding financial monetary matters and to expand to the rest of countries in CA."