The Executive Power is “in conversations” with the Free Zone Chamber and with legislators in the face of the concerns raised on the creation of the minimum domestic complementary tax, destined to tax The income obtained by the multinationals that have operations for more than US $ 878.2 billion and that today are paying in their matric houses the minimum global tax raised by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The Secretary of the Presidency, Alejandro Sánchez, told El Observador that “there is no problem” if “it is necessary to clarify the writing” to give greater guarantees about the new tribute. The hierarchy insisted that “the tax is harmless” and that it seeks to “locate” what companies are already paying in their countries of origin.
In parallel to local negotiations there are also contacts internationally. The tax changes that the Ministry of Economy It intends to establish with the approval of the budget- are part of a frequent exchange that is carried out with OECD technicians. The writing has to meet certain requirements imposed by the agency to respect the so -called Globe Rules.
But, in addition, it advances in the concretion of an encounter between the Minister of Economy, Gabriel Oddone, with some directors of the international body. That meeting is still not confirmed, but the intention is to occur before the end of the year.
One of the arguments wielded by the free zone chamber is that today it is not clear how many countries will apply the global tax raised by OECD. In Latin America, the only country that decided to adhere is Brazil, and of the 136 that agreed to its creation just over 50 have implemented it.
“The rest is waiting, because it has suffered swings for one side and for the other. It has the global word because it depends on globality to be effective, “the Chamber of the Chamber, Enrique Buero, explained Thursday.
According to the Secretary of the Presidency, if the company of origin of the company, where it has its parent company, He did not adhere to the tax, the company is not paying it and therefore there is nothing to locate.
Even the Undersecretary of Economy, Martín Vallcorba, was one step further in an interview with informal breakfasts And he said that in the regulation of the tax it will be clear that companies that do not have to pay in another country, nor will they pay it here.
“If we did not do that in the regulations, any of these companies makes a judgment to Uruguay because it is planned in investment protection treaties, and the trial wins us. It is a matter of common sense. Uruguay will not fail the commitments that are established because if we fail to comply with them they will not force them to fulfill them, “he said.
Anyway, not only does the country of the parent company matter but also the other subsidiaries that the company may have. If the country home did not adopt the minimum global tax, Vallcorb If any other corporate link that implies that it is installed in a country where IMG does govern, that country will charge 15% of the income generated in Uruguay. Therefore, the tax also applies to those companies.
On the other hand, the president of the Free Zone Chamber said this week in perspective that the law that created these regimes established in one of their articles that users will be “exempted taxes created or created” During the period of the contract signed by the company to establish its operations. And in another articles, Buero said, he established that the State will be the “responsible for damages.”
Buero remarked that this has been “one of the fundamental pillars” of the country to “capture investments Foreign “and that has been valued in recent years, before a scenario of global uncertainty.” That is the key to success: clear things. In writing and in a law, “he said. In that sense, according to the union, the minimum domestic complementary tax should not apply for users of free zones, which in Uruguay are exempted.
For Alejandro Sánchez, however, the minimum domestic complementary tax is “harmless” because “it is not a new tax”, but is located in Uruguay What is already taxed in the parent company. Vallcorba added that what there is is a “change in tax treatment, but not by decision of Uruguay (…) What there is is a change in global rules.”
The Free Zone Chamber also questions that “a challenge” is added to competitiveness to a list that is already “very large”, especially compared to the “main competitors” from Uruguay in “Foreign Investment” that are the other countries of the region that – as of Brazil – have not yet implemented the tax.
Buero pointed out in perspective that there will be companies that eventually decide to pay for the minimum tax in their matrices “for operational issues” or to “avoid additional costs” in their operations in Uruguay. “If we have a DGI that is presented and intends to collect the tax, those companies in legitimate use will say that they prefer to continue paying in their parent home because for them it is not neutral for x reasons. And they are valid reasons.”
The president of the Chamber estimated that a solution would be to include in the article that creates this tax to contemplate these types of situations. However, he pointed out that from the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) they were warned that this would not be possible, since it would fail to comply with the requirements that the OECD established for the tax.
However, from the Government they ruled out this scenario. In an interview with Search, Vallcorba said that “the tributarians argue that paying it here saves them many procedures and complications linked to tax compliance abroad.” “It is clear that for these companies there is no damage,” insisted the Undersecretary.
Settings
The Ministry of Economy and Finance will appear before the Finance and Budget Commission on August 30 and, As Minister Oddone advanced, they will carry some changes to adjust the drafting of the project.
The project provides that in the request of foreign states the bank secrecy can be lifted and that the same power is the DGI itself. Oddone already advanced in more than one interview that they will correct the writing so that the director of the DGI has to base a presumption of evasion to be able to lift bank secrecy without judicial intervention.
