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.
In one of the regions that receives the least amount of taxes in the world, the tax burden remained relatively stable in 2017.
From the section Fiscal Outlook for Central America, from the report "Macro-fiscal Profiles: 9th edition", by the Central American Institute of Fiscal Studies (Icefi):
In the region the level of sales tax evasion is around 33% on average.
From a statement from the Central Institute for Fiscal Studies (Icefi):
The Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies presents the seventh edition of its analysis of the situation in Costa Rica.
Icefi: It is urgent that the two contending political parties specify a plan that will allow them to balance fiscal accounts and fulfill their campaign promises.
The Executive has proposed that individuals and business organizations that operate informally pay a single tribute of $20 a year.
The Guatemalan vice president, Roxana Baldetti proposed formalizing the informal economy through payment of a single annual tax of $20 which would apply to micro, small and medium enterprises operating in this segment of the economy.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development wants to prevent schemes that allow using different jurisdictions in order to avoid paying tax where the activity is being carried out.
An article in DF.cl reports that "The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has prepared a report, commissioned by the G20, which will be presented in early February to launch changes in international tax regulations that prevent multinationals from exploiting loopholes in order to pay very little tax by declaring profits in tax havens. "
The four candidates leading the polls, Otto Pérez Molina, Sandra Torres, Eduardo Suger and Harold Caballeros, have presented their fiscal policy.
Otto Pérez Molina of the Patriota Party, is urging the adoption of a fiscal pact, and said of tax increases, "During my administration we will have to consider whether an increase (in tax) is necessary or not."
"If we want first-world services, we must pay first-world taxes" - Laura Chinchilla.
The tax burden in Central America hovers between Guatemala's 9.9% and Nicaragua's 17%. In Brazil its 29%, whereas Scandinavian countries have tax burdens around 40%.
Tax collection has been hardly hit by the economic crisis, making evident the need for fiscal reforms to solve the structural problems of the region's tax systems.
It is official: Latin Americans pay less taxes that almost all of the inhabitants of the other regions of the world.
Two new studies by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL) show that tax collection by Latin American governments is not only below that of the 30 most industrialized nations of the world, but that it is also lower than that of southeast Asia and Africa.
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