With the Nicaraguan authorities confirming that they will review the Tax Agreement Law again in 2020, the business sector is calling for the correction of several measures that have decapitalized companies operating in the country.
On February 27, 2019, the reform to the Tax Harmonization Law was approved, which consisted in raising income tax from 1% to 2% for medium sized companies with higher income, and from 1% to 3% for large taxpayers.
As a result of the tax reform implemented in February 2019, at the beginning of 2020 the prices of beverages increased, mainly soft drinks sold in plastic containers.
In February of last year, the Ortega regime approved the reform of the Tax Agreement Law, which consisted of increasing income tax from 1% to 2% for medium sized companies with higher incomes, and from 1% to 3% for large taxpayers.
Until January 13, 2020, the Sworn Declaration of Liquidation of the Selective Consumption Tax on Soft Drinks may be presented in Panama, corresponding to November 2019.
Law 114 dated November 18, 2019, which entered into force on November 19, 2019, establishes a new rate for the Selective Excise Tax on Soft Drinks, which is why the e-Tax 2.0 system was modified. Due to these changes, the authorities decided to extend the deadline for filing this return, corresponding to the November 2019 period.
The French government reported that it removed Guatemala from the list of countries that do not cooperate with the exchange of fiscal information, but kept Panama.
The European country's authorities reported that Guatemala was removed from the list because it ratified the convention on mutual administrative assistance in tax matters of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
In Guatemala, the Superintendence of Tax Administration completed the computer development phase of the platform, which will manage the new Electronic Regime for the Return of Tax Credit.
This computer development includes the registration for exporters who wish to adhere to this new Regime, as well as the implementation of the Electronic Form for Request for Return of Tax Credit Electronic Special Regime (SAT-2251), informed Agexport.
As a result of the tax reform implemented in February 2019, Nicaragua tripled the tax burden on imports of all types of beverages, and nine months later, businessmen are still waiting for the government to review the collections.
On February 27, 2019, the amendment to the Tax Concertation Law was approved, which consisted of raising from 1% to 2% the income tax for medium sized companies with higher income, and for large taxpayers from 1% to 3%, the livestock sector has reported considerable increases in its production costs.
In Costa Rica, the Ministry of Finance proposes to apply VAT to services such as Netflix, Airbnb, Tinder, Skype, PlayStation Network and advertising on social networks, among others.
According to a resolution of the Ministry of Finance that should be in consultation in the coming days, credit card issuers would be required to receive the 13% tax.
Since November 26, the Guatemalan authorities have the power to access taxpayers' bank information for tax purposes, so they can now corroborate that the bank income of companies coincide with the payment of their taxes.
After the resolution of the Constitutional Court was published in the Diario de Centroamérica on November 25, in which the appeal of unconstitutionality filed by Escalas Mercantiles S.A., which was intended to prevent the authorities from having access to the banking information of companies and individuals, the law that empowers the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT) to investigate taxpayers has come into effect.
A law was published in the Official Journal of Panama that establishes a 7% tax on carbonated beverages, 5% for other sugary beverages and 10% for syrups, syrups and concentrates for the production of sugary beverages.
On November 18, Law 114 was published in the Official Journal, entitled " What creates the Action Plan to Improve Health and dictates other provisions to establish the selective tax on the consumption of sugary beverages and the criteria for its use."
In Costa Rica, taxpayers interested in benefiting from exemptions or reduced rates of payment of Value Added Tax must register with the Directorate General of Taxation.
The changes were detailed on October 15, 2019, when the resolution of the General Directorate of Taxation (DGT) No.
The Ortega administration rejected the request of Nicaraguan coffee growers, who requested that the tax of one dollar per quintal exported be waived for the 2020-2021 harvest.
The decision to start charging from next year was published by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Commerce (Mific) in the October 15, 2019 edition of La Gaceta.
The funds collected from the producers will be managed by the National Commission for the Transformation and Development of Coffee Culture (Conatradec), as stipulated in the Law for the Transformation and Development of Coffee Culture, which was amended in August 2019.
In the Dominican Republic, the e-commerce union announced that it will file a legal appeal against the government's intention to apply a tax on the use of digital platforms by 2020.
The intention of the Dominican Chamber of Electronic Commerce (Cadolec), is to stop the collection of taxes to platforms such as Netflix, Spotify, Airbnb and some others, by means of an appeal for protection that they plan to present to the Superior Administrative Court.
Since October 1, Costa Rican producers and suppliers in the agricultural and fishing sector have a special regime for declaring and paying VAT, which provides that coffee producers, sugarcane and beekeepers will make an annual declaration.
The new Special Agricultural Regime (REA) does not change fiscal obligations, but it allows them to be adapted to the particularities of production processes, so as to facilitate compliance, informed the authorities.
The Guatemalan Congress approved a bill that contemplates the creation of a special tax regime for agricultural activity.
Although this bill was involved in controversy days ago, as the chambers of industry and commerce expressed their opposition, Congress decided to approve the bill. See full bill.
The outlook for sugar producers in Nicaragua is complex, since they must face a fall in international prices, coupled with rising operating costs at the local level.
According to international reports, from January 2018 to September 2019, the average price of a quintal of sugar has remained below $14, even dropping to $10.46 in August 2018.
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