Hacienda is working on the design of the new digital tax and the rate will be less than 20%



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Bad news for fans of the Netflix series or the Spotify playlist. The next seasons of Stranger Things or House of Cards could cost a little more. It will be the same for Premium Spotify auditors. Does the Ministry of Finance work to design a new fee for online platforms and possibly charge through transactions that are made by the credit card and, in the case of the streaming platform, end up to pay in Netherlands, but in the case of online radio, billed in Stockholm

All digital platforms will have to pay taxes, according to Treasury design, after the government announced a few days ago that the tax reform will include gravels to the so-called "digital economy", a topic not just in Chile but the world, given that technological advances and applications are making more and more different types of shopping of products are today outside the fiscal orbit that is applied to the traditional economy

This special tax has been estimated at 20% or less (VAT reaches 19 %), according to the exp erts in the process.

As, for example, when in the payment this month if a consumer makes Netflix, Spotify, Airbnb or Uber, through his credit card, a tax of less than 20% will be added, which will be retained by the bank and then handed over to the Internal Revenue Service.

"The consumer will pay the tax, but the one who will keep it will be the bank, which will act as tax collector," says Soledad Recabarren, of Recabarren & Asociados.

Carey's badociate, Jessica Power explains that this special tax will be established as a consequence of the difficulty of applying the tax that is actually payable to these companies (such as VAT, for example), due to practical problems of control and control. he believes that "it should be lower than VAT, that is, less than 19%." For this reason, it indicates that in other countries, the payment is made by l & # 39; 39 The intermediary of the credit card with which the payment is made

The same Minister of Finance, Felipe Larran, gave some insight on this subject, as some of these companies are not incorporated in Chile. so it's harder to charge them to the ETRA In the case of this new tax, indirect alternatives are evaluated to tax them, such as a tax linked to the tax. transaction, highlighted in Finance.

Power points out that "at the international level and apparently in Chile, a very practical solution has been found which consists in establishing a special tax on the digital transaction."

Why is it so difficult?

Although the fact that digital is "digital" does not mean that the company has to pay taxes and what kind of tax, the platforms have particular characteristics that make it very complex, if not impossible.

Jessica Power illustrates them: they do not have a physical presence in the country and their business relies on intangible badets of difficult appraisal.

Oledad Recabarren adds that often they have their tax seat – where taxes are supposed to be paid – in countries with low corporate tax rates or in tax havens. Even when you pay, for example, a trip to Uber with the credit card and billing goes to Holland, it may mean that the company has its current account in that country, but its tax office may be in another State. In fact, Uber was founded in San Francisco, California, USA, and is headquartered.

The lawyer Juan Ignacio Cornejo, badociate of SCK Abogados y Consultores, adds that if these digital companies are in countries with which Chile has double taxation agreements and will not pay taxes in our country, but in the other state.

The difficulty of paying homage to these platforms is a subject of international debate. And some neighboring countries are already taking action.

In Argentina, for example, the credit card operator will have to withhold tax equivalent to 21% as of this month and then hand it over to the tax agency. In Colombia and because of a tax reform made in 2016, these platforms pay 19% tax from this year, and if they do not, you can keep a credit card or debit .

Australia is one of the countries where the tax is 10% and comes into effect in July 2016. In the United States, Netflix pays taxes ranging between 6% and 9% in some states. like Pennsylvania, Chicago and Minnesota.

socios-colaboradores

The Ministry of Finance is also badyzing another change, which involves platforms where there are also "collaborating partners" in Chile, such as Uber drivers. Thus, Uber pbadengers will pay the new tax, but also the driver who makes the trip should be taxed for their income received for this work (see box).

In Teatinos 120 also badyze how to tax the employees of Airbnb, who rents real estate and gets rents

SII: difficulty to audit

The Treasury's decision to create a special tax for these Digital businesses is due to the fact that tax administrations are facing a maze at the moment collecting taxes. The director of the Internal Revenue Service (SII), Fernando Barraza, said this week that since it does not exist, it is important to note that there is no such thing as tax. There is no special law for this type of service, the current law works. "However, every country in the world is having trouble monitoring these services and that is why every country in the world thinks of special rules or regulations."

Barraza explains that there are digital companies that actually pay the taxes that correspond to them. in some cases, VAT, and in other cases, the income tax. Cabify pays income tax and drivers attached to the platform issue invoices or tickets (see box). The Director of the IIS adds: "There are companies that do it in some countries and not in others, so the scenario is very varied". He adds that the only common thing is "the difficulty of surveillance".

It's not the same and it's not the same thing

Now, if a person buys a product-dresses, shoes, iPad or other platform like Aliexpress or Amazon, will pay import duties and VAT (Value Added Tax), but not a new tax. In this sense, the Treasury works with the National Customs Service and with Correos de Chile to accelerate this audit in the purchase of goods.

But another thing is if you download a movie from Amazon Prime. "Oh yes, he will pay for this service," says a connoisseur of the process

How it works today

Today, services rendered by non-residents and paid from Chile are taxed at 35%, called additional tax, explains the partner of SCK Abogados and Consultores, Juan Ignacio Cornejo. This rate has several exceptions. For example, they pay this tax of 35% on the Internet, but they are exempt from those who impose commercial commissions on a foreign company.

But the problem is complicated because Chile has 32 double taxation treaties.

In the current state of affairs, "services provided by non-residents do not generally pay VAT, but they pay additional taxes if they are not covered by a convention. tax, "explains Cornejo. 19659030] [ad_2]
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