The collection of the tax seems to leave behind the streak of much of 2023, according to a report from the Chamber of Commerce and Services of Uruguay.
The collection of the VAT increased 0.5% during the January-March period and grew in real terms for the second consecutive quarter, according to the June economic bulletin of the Chamber of Commerce and Services of Uruguay (Ccsuy).
The perception of tax, which is usually used as an indicator to evaluate the evolution of the consumption of goods and services in the Internal market, It was 74,220 million pesos in the first quarter, which is 0.5% more in real terms than the same period last year.
The growth occurred mainly in the collection of domestic consumption, which at the beginning of the year increased by 2.11%, contrasting with the fall of 1.48% at the end of last year, something that can be associated with the sharp reduction in the price gap with Argentina which resulted in less diversion of consumption to the neighboring country.
On the other hand, the perception of VAT for imports had a negative year-on-year performance between January and March, with a decrease of 2.87% compared to the same period in 2023, after the strong increase of 7.21% that was evident at the end of last year.
Is collection efficient in Uruguay?
Despite the improvement in the collection of VAT, from the DGI They considered that they could receive close to double that tax and the IRAE, two of the fiscal pillars in the country’s tax structure.
A study carried out by Fernando Peláez, leader of the DGI, spoke of a low collection efficiency, noting that around 41% less is received in VAT and 54% in IRAE from the potential, according to a calculation for the 2019-2021 period.
The report spoke of “the collection gap, divided into “political gap” associated with preferential treatment, which includes exemptions, simplified regimes, tax benefits and extraordinary deductions, etc., along with the “noncompliance gap.” For Peláez, of the 41% that the DGI missed collecting, 19% was explained by resignation validated by political decision and 22% was due to non-compliance.
Source: Ambito
