With this initiative, which will now be law, the Executive plans to collect 1.5% of GDP, that is, US$ 4.5 billion, of which it estimates to allocate US$ 1.2 billion to the 2025 Budget to finance various plans, including those related to security.
This day, in the Chamber of Deputies, the bill on compliance with tax obligations was discussed, which is one of the multidimensional points that make up the so-called Fiscal Pact proposed by the Government.
And the administration of President Gabriel Boric achieved a success, as parliamentarians passed the bill into law, which establishes rules to ensure that the aforementioned obligations are met and thus avoid any type of evasion.
Days earlier, the Minister of Finance, Mario Marcel, had been clear: it was extremely urgent for them to get this project approved before the 2025 Budget Law was submitted to Congress (that will happen on Monday, September 30).
This is because, according to the head of the fiscal coffers, “1.2 billion dollars” were at stake for next year’s fiscal treasury.
With this initiative, which will now be law, the Executive plans to collect 1.5% of GDP, that is, US$ 4.5 billion, of which it estimates to allocate US$ 1.2 billion to the 2025 Budget to finance various plans, including those related to security.
In detail, they will seek to increase resources for the Carabineros and the Investigative Police (PDI) to combat organized crime, but also allocate amounts to increase the Universal Guaranteed Pension (PGU).
In conjunction with the resources raised by the Mining Royalty, the Ministry of Finance said, “public spending on security will increase by US$ 1.5 billion, totaling a 40% increase in public investment in security compared to 2022.”
AXES OF TAX COMPLIANCE
The main points of the new law can be summarized as the modernization of tax administration, control of informality and tax crimes; aggressive tax planning; and new powers for the Taxpayer's Ombudsman.
It also provides for the regularization of tax obligations and the strengthening of oversight bodies and the safeguarding of integrity.
Going into more detail on the above, it can be highlighted that the modernization will directly affect the Internal Revenue Service (SII), the Treasury and Customs, as well as the tax and customs courts and the Taxpayer's Ombudsman.
In this area, for example, the best use of available technologies and new tools in the field of auditing will be promoted. An increase in the staffing of these entities will also be verified.
At the same time, the crimes in this area will be updated and some of the penalties will be increased. Among the latter are those corresponding to the use or provision of a false tax document.
The above will be added to the introduction of the figure of substantial collaboration, to encourage self-reporting; and of the anonymous whistleblower.
Other advances will be directed towards the supervision of business groups; the creation of tax sustainability; the possibility of establishing traceability in the trade of goods; a new policy for determining interests; preferential tax regimes (tax havens); VAT on purchases through digital platforms from taxpayers not domiciled in Chile; and the repatriation of capital, among others.
But there will be other improvements: digital platforms, payment portals and public entities will be required to require their users to start their activities, as well as report the operations carried out through them; and it will be established that all foreign digital platforms will be subject to paying Sales and Services Tax (VAT) for the goods sold.
The SII will be empowered to implement traceability systems for any type of goods, with the fiscal cost to be borne by the State; and banks will have to require the start of activities for credit operations.
In turn, banks must inform the SII about taxpayers who receive 50 or more transfers from different people in the same day, week or month, or 100 within the same semester, and the aggregate amount of the reported transactions.
Finally, used goods dealers will need to identify their suppliers.
SMEs
In favour of SMEs, various measures will be included to alleviate their tax burden and facilitate compliance.
Among them, the interest rate on tax debts will be reduced from 1.5% per month to a variable daily rate that will be set every six months by the SII; SMEs will be allowed to access preferential agreements for the payment of debts in 18 installments, with an initial down payment of no more than 5% and forgiveness of interest and fines.
In addition, a rule will be introduced to declare tax debts older than 10 years uncollectible and to request ex officio the prescription of debts that have expired, explained the Treasury.
