The Guatemalan Congress approved a bill that contemplates the creation of a special tax regime for agricultural activity.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Although this bill was involved in controversy days ago, as the chambers of industry and commerce expressed their opposition, Congress decided to approve the bill. See full bill.
Among the main tax benefits that agricultural producers will have that will be the object of this law, is that they will pay 5% of taxes on gross sales, as long as they do not exceed $39,000 annually.
Prensalibre.com reviews that "... Carlos Chavarría, deputy of Creo, voted against. He justified that the initiative sought to incorporate sectors so that there would be less informal trade, but now "rewarded" sectors that have problems with the treasury, such as livestock producers, coffee and cardamom."
The article adds that "... Fernando Linares-Beltranena, of PAN, voted in favor and argued that the new law will allow 'new taxpayers to enter the tax system because they are going to start paying and become bankrupt."
The road for the approval of this regime was long, as the proposal for "Law on Simplification, Updating and Tax Incorporation", was more than two years in Congress, and was until last September 10 when its discussion was scheduled for final drafting.
In order for Guatemalan producers to compete under the same conditions as neighboring countries, the government is preparing a bill that seeks to exempt agricultural inputs from VAT.
The initiative, known as the "Fiscal Equity Law", is being prepared by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food (Maga), because, according to the institution's top official, other Central American countries do not charge value-added tax (VAT) on agricultural inputs.
For interest, penalties or surcharges to be 100% forgiven, taxpayers will have until November 30,
2019 to pay their overdue taxes.
On September 26, the National Assembly approved Bill 78 of 2019, which aims to exonerate from interest, surcharges and fines of taxes that are delinquent and owed by taxpayers.
The Guatemalan Chamber of Commerce opposes the special tax scheme for agricultural activity approved by Congress, arguing that it is unconstitutional and violates the principles of tax equity.
The new fiscal regime for agriculture, approved last September 24 by the deputies of the Congress of the Republic, has been surrounded by controversy, as from the beginning the chambers of industry and commerce expressed their opposition.
In Guatemala, the chambers of industry and commerce oppose the bill that proposes to create a special tax regime for agricultural activity.
The project "Law on Simplification, Updating and Tax Incorporation", which has been in Congress for more than two years, was scheduled for final discussion until September 10. See full bill.
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