A bill will be presented to the Congress of the Republic of Guatemala to require public accountants, auditors, lawyers and notaries to report their transactions.
The bill seeking to broaden the scope of regulated persons’ subject to money laundering control, which will be presented by the Superintendence of Banks (SIB), is aimed primarily at professionals as individuals, but will also include real estate companies, vehicle agencies and casinos.
A court ruling has overturned the SAT resolutions authorizing Empresa Portuaria Quetzal y Terminal de Contenedores Quetzal to operate as temporary customs warehouses.
Although the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) has announced that it will be appealing the ruling given by the Second Administrative Appeals Chamber, the reality is that since June 28, the activities of the customs warehouses in Empresa Portuaria Quetzal (EPQ) have been suspended as well as those at the Terminal de Contenedores Quetzal (TCQ)."...The resolution orders that the SAT no longer has the customs service under its administration, which contravenes the Central American Customs Code CAUCA, therefore the Superintendency will file an appeal against the decision made by the Court."
In 2016, the ratio between total expenditure of central governments of the countries of the region and GDP remained almost unchanged from the previous year, going from 18.3% to 18.6%.
From the report "Macroeconomic Profiles: 8th edition", from the Central American Institute of Fiscal Studies (Icefi):
The Central American Institute for Fiscal Studies (Icefi) presented its most recent edition of the Macro-Fiscal Profiles of Central America, which contains an analysis of the fiscal situation of Central America and each of the countries of the region, at the end of fiscal year 2016, as well as the main lines contained in the budgets approved for 2017.The publication includes in this opportunity a revision to the main indicators related to the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Objectives 2030 -ODS 2030- and raises the urgent need to make progress in a new fiscal agenda that allows the effective attention of these commitments in the short term.
The Superintendency of Tax Administration has authorized the publication of audit procedures in cases of VAT refunds to exporters.
In response to complaints from several exporters, the Ministry of Finance has removed the information restriction on enforcement procedures as approved in the Access to Information Act.
A report from the Central Institute for Fiscal Studies said that mining activities in Guatemala are "far from presenting satisfactory levels of transparency."
The Tax Authority has announced the implementation of its program of massive audits of firms for March and April.
From a statement issued by the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT):
The Tax Authority within its functions to monitor compliance with tax obligations and billing for services and sale of products, is now conducting checks on billing and fixed points at different types of existing businesses.
The new head of the Superintendency of Banks intends to resume the discussion in Congress of a bill which would regulate banking secrecy in the country by way of tax audits.
With the aim of improving tax controls, the Superintendency of Banks (SIB) seeks to reform national legislation for the regulation of banking secrecy in order to access "... Banking information of taxpayers, under guarantees of confidentiality."
As part of the controls to combat smuggling, between May and July 29 companies were suspended from the list of importers, which represents 60% of the total volume of pairs of shoes entering the country.
In order to detect and prevent irregularities in the import of footwear, the General Administration of Federal Tax Audit Tax Administration Service of Mexico carried out 31 audits "... on the major importer of footwear, which represent 85% of the volume of shoes that are imported at low prices. ". Also, 18 suspension orders have been issued totaling $1.1 million.
Financial authorities insist on the need to eliminate bank secrecy in order to access information on taxpayers accounts where suspicious movements have been reported.
Now it is the Superintendency of Banks (SIB) which is insisting on taking up the bill to eliminate bank secrecy which has been lodged with the Congress of Guatemala since 2012 and aims to "...
For the second time the president of the Central Bank is proposing the elimination of bank secrecy so that cross-checks can be carried out in order to control tax evasion and increase tax revenues.
Just eight months ago, the president of the Central Bank insisted in Congress on the need to eliminate bank secrecy in order to minimize tax evasion and improve tax collection.
Extraordinary measures announced by the tax authorities will focus on reviewing withholding tax, declarations and verification of income tax.
Verification of statements of withholding agents, recalculation of retention for taxpayers with incomes over $3.886, monitoring omissions and frequent verification of cases of taxpayers of the higher tax interest, are part of the measures to be applied to the deficit of $87 million resulting from the last collection period.
The plan by the Tax Administration requires an investment of $20 million for the purchase of technological systems using scanners and electronic vehicle tax discs.
The Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) announced that it intends to submit a modernization plan for the customs offices of Santo Tomas, Central Customs, Puerto Quetzal, Tecum Uman and Pedro de Alvarado.
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