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.
The Superintendent of Tax Administration has contradicted the announcement made by the finance minister and ruled out a possible tax amnesty in the short term.
The highest tax authorities in Guatemala are contradicting each other. Although the minister of Finance, Julio Héctor Estrada, announced a possible tax amnesty for the second half of this year, Juan Francisco Solórzano Foppa, head of the Tax Authority (SAT) said in remarks published by Elperiodico.com.gt that "there will not be a tax amnesty".
As part of the reform to the tax concentration law cooperatives are calling for the elimination of the retention of 1% per month on their gross income and for a special tax rule to be created.
The Concertación Tax Act indicates that cooperatives are free to pay income tax if their gross annual incomes are less than or equal to $1.5 million. However, this same law also states that 1% must be retained per month in advance even if the stated income level is not reached.
The business sector of Costa Rica agrees with the content of the draft law proposed by the executive branch to combat tax evasion, but points to gaps in the text.
The lack of "... clear measures on how to combat informality" is one of the shortcomings of the initiative, according to Alan Saborio, coordinator of the Tax Commission of the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Enterprise (Uccaep).
The board of the Tax Administration has decided to terminate the tender process which had been proposed for obtaining a contract for external consultancy on how to increase revenues.
Days after announcing an interest in convening an international tender for consultancy services to improve fiscal management, the board of the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) has reversed the decision.
Instead of contracting international consulting company through a tender it has been proposed that the SAT should turn to the Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations and other lower-cost options.
Experts on tax matters in Guatemala are looking for alternatives to the government's proposal to hold an international competition for services for fiscal management, with one of the first suggestions being, "...
Replacing Sales Tax with VAT, applying a system of global income and maintaining exemptions in free zones are part of the projects being prepared by the government.
With the three projects he plans to introduce in the Legislature, the Executive leader intends to increase total tax revenue to 2% of GDP in two years and completely eliminate the primary deficit, which at the end of 2013 was 2.8% of GDP.
Tax authorities estimate that tax revenues could increase by 8%, and from the amount of growth in earnings, the consulting firm would charge 30%.
Although the competition for hiring a company to advise the government on the management of taxes has not been carried out, already questions are arising about the cost that such a contract will represent for the State.
Confirmation has been given in Guatemala of a tender for consulting services to improve tax collection which will be launched before the end of 2014.
Although Rodrigo Montufar, chief of the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) of Guatemala ".... did not specify the date on which the contest might open, he estimated that next year they will have a contract with the respective company because it is an obligation of the Board to ensure that the taxation target is reached," reported S21.com.gt".
Tax revenues in relation to GDP increased in the Central American countries with the exceptions of Guatemala, where it fell, and Costa Rica, where it did not change.
A report entitled "Tax Statistics" prepared by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), analyzes the behavior of tax collection in Latin America.
Outsourcing the collection of unpaid taxes in Panama has generated comments that merit an analysis of the differences in efficiency between the public and the private sector.
Editorial
In Panama the Tax Revenue Authority has hired a private company to recover its arrears portfolio, gaining efficiency and reducing costs.
An article in Prensa.com by Oosvaldo Lau suggests otherwise, noting the "good business at the expense of the state" made by the contractor, who of course charges a fee for their work which varies according to the length of default of each debtor.
The suits citing unconstitutionality presented in Guatemala against the tax reform have caused irrecoverable losses to government coffers.
The head of Collection at tax authority SAT said that " the reform does not only include income tax (ISR)" and noted that the Constitutional Court (CC), among other resolutions, suspended the collection of a 5% tax on the first registration of tractors (Iprima).