International Tax Review is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 8 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2023

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Editorial

The key word for the 13th edition of the Latin America guide is transparency, as countries across the region, spurred by numerous international initiatives, begin to collect and share more information than ever before.

Unsurprisingly, the OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project also features heavily in the pages of this guide. While only Mexico and Chile are full members of the OECD, Costa Rica is in the process of becoming a member, several other countries in this guide are associated with the organisation in some way, and more still are following many of the BEPS Project's recommendations.

Seismic events are occurring in Brazil following the impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff and the rise to power of Michel Temer and his party. There is a major tax amnesty underway, which represents the most significant foray into transparency measures to date for the southern hemisphere's largest economy, and will provide an opportunity for the tax authorities to make use of improving technology.

Brazil is also a key partner of the OECD and is moving quickly to implement some elements of BEPS. In addition to expanding its information exchange network and bringing in measures regarding the disclosure of ultimate ownership, it is reforming the Administrative Tax Appellate Court and bringing in powerful anti-corruption legislation, forcing companies to focus less on tax planning and more on tax compliance.

Perhaps the biggest tax story of the year was the release of the 'Panama Papers'. However, as argued on pages 7 and 8, the 'British Virgin Islands Papers' may have been a more accurate name. Panama has been bringing its legal framework into line with international standards, and has been praised by the Financial Action Task Force for the progress it has made. It will also be implementing the common reporting standard bilaterally by 2018.

Chile is coming to terms with its second tax reform in four years, leaving plenty of work for advisers there, while transfer pricing professionals in Mexico have been kept busy filing for around 700 maquiladora APAs, for which a new fast-track methodology, the requirements of which are examined in the Mexican section of this guide's TP Focus, has been proposed.

I hope you enjoy the important content this year's guide has to offer.

Joe Stanley-Smith

Deputy editor

International Tax Review

more across site & bottom lb ros

More from across our site

Participants in the consultation on the UN secretary-general’s report into international tax cooperation are divided – some believe UN-led structures are the way forward, while others want to improve existing ones. Ralph Cunningham reports.
The German government unveils plans to implement pillar two, while EY is reportedly still divided over ‘Project Everest’.
With the M&A market booming, ITR has partnered with correspondents from firms around the globe to provide a guide to the deal structures being employed and tax authorities' responses.
Xing Hu, partner at Hui Ye Law Firm in Shanghai, looks at the implications of the US Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act for TP comparability analysis of China.
Karl Berlin talks to Josh White about meeting the Fair Tax standard, the changing burden of country-by-country reporting, and how windfall taxes may hit renewable energy.
Sandy Markwick, head of the Tax Director Network (TDN) at Winmark, looks at the challenges of global mobility for tax management.
Taxpayers should look beyond the headline criteria of the simplification regime to ensure that their arrangements meet the arm’s-length standard, say Alejandro Ces and Mark Seddon of the EY New Zealand transfer pricing team.
In a recent webinar hosted by law firms Greenberg Traurig and Clayton Utz, officials at the IRS and ATO outlined their visions for 2023.
The Asia-Pacific awards research cycle has now begun – don’t miss on this opportunity be recognised in 2023
An intense period of lobbying and persuasion is under way as the UN secretary-general’s report on the future of international tax cooperation begins to take shape. Ralph Cunningham reports.