Yesterday the Ministry of Finance presented the main focuses of the bill on Tax compliance obligations. According to the information provided, they are seven:
1. Modernization of the Tax administration and the Tax and Customs Courts (TTA, for its initials in Spanish).
It seeks to advance how the Chilean Internal Revenue Service (SII, for its initials in Spanish), Treasury Service and National Customs Service relate to the taxpayer, as well as update the regulations in order to ensure and monitor tax compliance more efficiently. In this regard, the proposal of a new procedure for lifting banking secrecy stands out, where it will be the taxpayer’s burden to file a judicial action to oppose it.
2. Control of informality.
To both prevent damage to tax collection and combat informality linked to organized crime, measures as requiring banks and financial institutions to alert when a taxpayer receives more than 50 transactions from different accounts within a month, or that the transaction processing platforms (POS system) require the start of activities to provide their services.
3. Justice and Equity. Tax crimes.
The main novelty is the incorporation of the figure of the anonymous whistleblower, in order to strengthen the prosecution of tax crimes. Likewise, it is proposed to increase penalties for those who provide or use false tax documents.
4. Aggressive Tax Planning.
An improvement of the General Anti-Avoidance Standard (NGA, for its initials in Spanish) is proposed, seeking better interaction with those special anti-avoidance standards. Likewise, it seeks to eliminate spaces for donations to related parties.
5. Taxpayer Ombudsman.
It will be given new powers to carry out support and training tasks for taxpayers on compliance with tax obligations. Likewise, its range of action is expanded to include the representation of taxpayers before the Treasury or Customs.
6. Regularization of tax obligations.
To help taxpayers settle their tax debts, the calculation of the interest rate will be modified, and the conditions for signing payment agreements will be made more flexible, including a special measure for SMEs that will be able to access interest-free agreements. In addition, the repatriation of capital from abroad and the early termination of tax trials will be allowed on an exceptional and temporary basis.
7. Institutional strengthening and probity.
It seeks to technologically strengthen the bodies in charge of tax administration and include regulations that reinforce the standard of probity required of officials, incorporating sanctions for non-compliance.
The Ministry of Finance points out that the project does not contain increases in personal taxes, but rather its objective is to more efficiently prosecute crimes and aggressive tax planning. However, the elimination of the VAT exemption for imported products for less than US$41 is planned.
Likewise, regarding the NGA, the aim is, on one hand, to specifically establish its scope and consequences of its application, and on the other, to modify its procedure. About this last point, it will be the Chilean IRS who will classify the acts as elusive at the administrative headquarters, following the opinion of a Consultative Advisory Council created for this purpose, made up of people external to the tax administration, an opinion that will not be binding. All this while maintaining the taxpayer’s right to resort to tax justice to complain about the IRS’s decision.
Finally, regarding the anonymous whistleblower, a mechanism will be chosen that generates incentives for the whistleblower, while at the same time establishing sanctions in case of malicious reporting.
To read the official documents, here.
