In this scenario of economic crisis, falling tax revenues and the need to finance recovery programs, in Guatemala and Costa Rica it is already proposed to increase current taxes and create new ones.
Guatemalan authorities are already beginning to discuss the fiscal policy they will apply in 2021, when the economy will have to face the effects of the economic crisis generated by the covid-19 outbreak.
Informality in the labor sector, low levels of taxation and little investment in innovation and development are some of the obstacles the country is facing in terms of competitiveness.
The Ministry of Economy presented the "First National Competitiveness Report", which analyzes more than 200 indicators obtained from indices prepared by international organizations such as Doing Business, Competitiveness Index, Trade Facilitation, Global Innovation, Connectivity and Index of Performance of Energetic Structure.
"Public debt in terms of simple average for the Central American region will continue growing, reaching 43.1% of GDP in 2018, after having registered 42.5% in 2017."
The Central American Institute of Fiscal Studies (Icefi) estimates that for the current year the size of public expenditure of the Central Government in relation to the respective Gross Domestic Product of each country will be 21.4% in Costa Rica, 20.4% in El Salvador, 20% in Honduras, 18.4% in Nicaragua, 17.6% in Panama and 12.1% in Guatemala.
The good functioning of the institution in charge of collecting taxes is vital for ensuring economic development, as it means that honest companies who comply with their fiscal obligations are not at a disadvantage to those who don't.
In Costa Rica, the Ministry of Finance is using a predictive model designed with data mining techniques to determine the behavioral patterns of companies that might be circumventing tax payments.
Analyzing and crossing checking historical information from multiple databases, the statistical model used by the Directorate General of Taxation attempts to predict which companies are more likely to evade paying taxes depending on their historical behavior measured through transactions, tax returns and other data.By linking all of the information, they identify patterns of behavior similar to those of other companies that have evaded taxes in the past.
According to the ICEFI, "tax incentive policies seem to be a lost opportunity because of permanent tax expenses and the lack of tangible social benefits."
From a statement issued by the ICEFI:
Within the framework of the international meeting on Tax Justice and Transnational Fraud, held in Costa Rica, a study was presented on October 20 entitled 'The effectiveness of taxincentives for investment in Central America' in which an analysis was undertaken of the Central American experience in investment attraction through tax incentives.
The analysis made by Fusades concludes that the bill aiming to collect tax debts allows assets to be seized before it has been proven that there is a real debt.
From a report by the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES):
On April 6, 2016, the Minister of Finance submitted to the Legislature, with instructions from the President of the Republic and making use of the bill bestowed by the Constitution, a draft "Law for the collection of tax debts and fines owed to the State", consisting of 109 articles, divided into five titles.The project is still under study by the Commission of Treasury and Budget of the Legislative Assembly.
Legal tax engineering is a mandatory business practice for anyone who wants to be competitive in today's globalized world, and only those who are not entrepreneurs can afford to refuse to acknowledge this fact.
EDITORIAL
With the same firmness that we criticize businesspeople who evade taxes or bribe officials to get a contract, we must defend every business practice which is framed within the law to pursue the best use of available resources to generate wealth through the production of goods and services, which is what businesses do.
The agreement signed with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development implies limitations on banking secrecy, and an obligation to exchange tax information.
The 100 largest taxpayers registered with the Ministry of Finance paid tax equivalent to 2% of their annual gross income.
Representatives from the department stated that they will start investigating some companies this year who have reported losses or very low taxation, "...
The Government is debating whether to charge an additional tax of 1% on the price of fuel when the international price falls below $50 per barrel.
Under the law passed in 2009, if the price of a barrel of oil is less than $50 an additional 1% tax on the price of fuel will be automatically applied. Although the international price of oil is now trading at less than $50, the tax is not yet being charged.
It has been stated that the tax on returns generated from stock market operations has discouraged investment in the country and constitutes a disadvantage compared to neighboring markets.
This 20% tax on returns from each operation has become a competitive disadvantage for the country, as investors prefer tax free markets where they are fewer barriers to investment.
The average tax burden for the region is 13.4% of GDP, while the average public expenditure increased from 18.7% in 2013 to 19.2% at the end of 2014.
From the Introduction of the report Macrofiscal profiles in Central America, from Instituto Centroamericano de Estudios Fiscales (Icefi):
The fiscal situation has worsened in Central America in recent months, mainly due to a structural lack of sufficient resources to meet the needs of Central Americans and realize many of the commitments made by governments.
A bill aims to tax properties of any value that either do or do not have constructions on them, and which do not have a specific use anywhere in the country, declaring them "luxury goods".
The proposed law states that "... property for recreation, leisure or rest, with or without construction or under construction, regardless of its value or location , such as houses, lots, plots, villas located in beaches, lakes, mountains or the city ... "will be taxed at 1% on the assessed value established for the property.
The private sector is opposed to the conditions in the third reform package the outgoing government intends to implement, claiming that state expenditures should be reduced first.
More control of public spending and no new taxes are the demands from employers to the government, which aims to increase government revenues with a third reform and the issuance of $800 million in bonds.
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