Payment schedule for obligations corresponding to October 2017 and Tax Memorandum on amendments to the Commercial Code.
From a Memorandum sent by Tezó and Associates:
In the newspaper Diario de Centro América dated October 31, 2017, Decree number 18-2017 was published containing reforms to Decree number 2-70 of the Congress of the Republic, Guatemalan Commercial Code, valid for ninety (90) days after its publication.
Memorandum on which defects and omissions with the Superintendency of Tax Administration create tax contingencies and how to manage them.
From a tax memorandum by Tezó y Asociados:
Have you checked if you have tax contingencies?
Not only the omission of payment or incorrect payment of taxes generates tax contingencies, but also non-compliance with formal obligations; for example:
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.
EDITORIAL
In Costa Rica, better administrative management has made possible better income tax collection figures than those foreseen with simple tax increases.
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.
Memorandum on tax exemptions for call center activities, development of software and digital content, and schedule for payments of tax liabilities in March 2017.
From a Memorandum sent by Tezó and Associates:
TAX EXEMPTION IN GUATEMALA FOR CALL CENTERS, SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL CONTENT
In February a law comes into force authorizing the lifting of bank secrecy of companies and individuals with a court order at the request of tax authorities.
Banks are preparing for the entry into force of legislation in February, modifying their processes in order to respond more quickly to requests from the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT).
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 tax incentives for investment in Central America' in which an analysis was undertaken of the Central American experience in investment attraction through tax incentives.
Absence of initiatives to cut spending and lack of dialogue with the business sector are the main criticisms of the tax reform bill proposed by the Executive Power.
In addition to the expected impact on the productive activities that will be affected, such as mining, one of the criticisms of the project is the absence of issues related to transparency in the use of resources, a key issue after the corruption cases revealed in 2015.
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.
Reviewing the regulation on banking secrecy and replacing the board of the SAT with a new Administrative Tax and Customs Tribunal are part of the proposals to improve tax administration in the country.
From a statement issued by the Central Institute for Fiscal Studies (Icefi):
Guatemala.- During the session of the Committee on Public Finance and Currency of the Congress, on February 19, the Icefi participated in a specific working session to discuss amendments to the Organic Law of the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT ), during which the final version of the Diagnostic was released and a roadmap proposed for effective tax administration.
In the opinion of the Central American Institute of Fiscal Studies, the only way to consolidate public finances in a sustainable way is to reduce tax breaks and increase tax collections.
From a statement issued by the Central Institute for Fiscal Studies (Icefi):
The Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (Icefi) has proposed as a fiscal agenda for development: meeting the public demand for integrity and transparency; effective, efficient and effectual public spending as a tool for inclusive and democratic development; and financial viability with taxation being part of democratic accountability.
Since the institutional crisis the tax supervision body has been operating without a head since April, while the fiscal deficit is still growing and legal bills sleep in the Assembly.
In an opinion piece published on Prensalibre.com, Oscar Chile Monroy, refers to the need for the new president Alejandro Maldonado to urgently decide on who are the new authorities for the Tax Administration in order to redirect the state of public finances, after the institutional crisis whose effects are still being felt in the tax collection agency.
The Constitutional Court has found that the evidence presented by the prosecution is enough to have Congress to decide whether or not to remove immunity from the president.
The decision to lift the immunity of President Perez Molina so that he may face corruption charges now lies with the legislature. The component members of The Inquiry Commission will have to investigate based on the evidence presented by prosecutors, and then make a plenary decision.