Models that the Treasury sees to collect taxes on the digital economy

A week has pbaded since the Finance Ministry made a surprise announcement that garnered applause in the private sector: tax reform will include taxes for the digital economy, an initiative that will be divided into two parts.

First, a new tribute will be created for digital platforms that provide services in the country, such as Uber, Cabify, Spotify and Netflix, among others; On the other hand, customs controls will be strengthened for the payment of VAT and tariffs for retailers who import products into the country, such as Amazon and AliExpress.

These days, the portfolio headed by Felipe Larraín is working on the "fine" detail of how such platforms will be taxed. The coordinators of modernization and fiscal policy, Carolina Fuensalida and Manuel Alcalde, respectively, are "in the lead," according to similar sources, badyzing different models at the global and regional scales to implement the system in the country [19659005]. , Brazil and Uruguay are the subject of an badysis. In the case of Argentina, the regulation that regulates the "Netflix tax" determines that the consumer tax withholding agent (21% vs. 19% in Chile) will be the credit card with which the services are canceled. which, in a certain way, causes the taxpayer to be less "conscious" that he pays the tax.

Idea that applies in Brazil, although in this country the beneficiary of the tax is controversial, since the state where the buyer is domiciled has the power to collect the tax. This can cause a macro-zone – Brazil is a federated country – to charge VAT for a transaction made elsewhere.

In Uruguay, the legislation establishes differential treatment: in the mediation of services (such as Uber), the 100 The percentage of the amount of the transaction will be considered Uruguayan source when the bidder and the applicant are located on the Uruguayan territory, while it will be reduced to 50% when one of the parties is abroad.

direct, like Netflix, it is presumed that if the service plaintiff is in Uruguay, the source is considered Uruguayan for purposes of VAT and income tax. The consumption tax rises to 22% in the East country

"Companies providing services abroad, but which are used in Chile, should be subject to the additional tax that should be withheld and declared by the payer This makes the correct application and control much more difficult.In this type of situation, the application of a transaction tax could be a a good alternative, "explains Vial Serrano's member. Abogados, Lisandro Serrano Romo.

The Developed World
A paper that captures the Treasury's attention these days is the preliminary report released in March by the European Commission. In this document, a "flat rate" tax of 3% is set for sales by technology companies operating in that jurisdiction, such as Google, Facebook, and Apple, as well as activities such as e-commerce, service platforms, and sales. data from the users of the European Union. In fact, in September of last year, the top five EU countries (France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom) led an offensive to tax the benefits of technology.

An interesting case is that of Italy, which created the concept of "permanent digital establishment", which in practice means that more than a physical presence, the economic presence the service provider will prevail when it comes to collecting taxes. Similarly, next year, a 3% tax will be levied on the provision of services electronically. The focus of this measure is digital advertising between companies, more than individuals.

A similar idea that India has repeated with its concept of "significant economic presence", which means that a bidder who provides services in the country – regardless of whether it is physically established – it will be subject to the tax regulations of the Asian country

In addition, the said court set a 6% tax on digital advertising revenues for non-resident companies that obtained profits in the country. This fee will not apply to foreign bidders who have a permanent establishment in India.

The case of the United Kingdom is also in the scale of Teatinos 120. In 2015, it applied the "deviated profits tax" (misused tax benefit), which applies to 25% of profits that companies "divert" from their territory.

The tax is triggered on two conditions: when a company does not reside in the United Kingdom – but with a commercial presence in said country structures its business to avoid the physical presence of an establishment stable; and when the company seeks to avoid corporate tax through tax regimes.