Guatemalan President Postpones Fiscal Reform

The reason given is that, "political conditions are not right for presenting the tax reforms to congress".

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Guatemalan president, Álvaro Colom, had announced that he would present a fiscal reform bill in the first quarter of this year. However, he has since said that political conditions are not favorable for going through with the reforms.

"Though the details of the reform were never revealed, source close to the government were promoting specific taxes for telecommunications and tax exemptions for other sectors," writes Jessica Gramajo for Elperiodico.com.gt. Tax on income was also believed to be under review, as well as certain import duties.

More on this topic

Bleak Outlook for the next president of Guatemala

October 2011

Experts agree Alvaro Colom’s successor will face a difficult fiscal, economic and political situation.

First, it will be difficult to achieve the tax reform needed to tackle the decline in tax revenues which is set to continue into 2012. Ricardo Barrientos, Central Institute for Fiscal Studies (ICEFI in Spanish), also said that the losing candidate in the election will become the main opposition, and will complicate any reform attempts or approval of additional financing for the state.

Álvaro Colom Insists on Discussing Tax Reform

January 2010

The president of Guatemala announced he will continue pressing the tax reform discussion with the private sector.

Guatemalan companies have restated they don’t want to discuss the possibility of increasing taxes, and according to them, Colom’s insistence may jeopardize the talks.

Guatemala's fiscal reform hits roadblocks

June 2008

The bill presented to the government by the National Peace Accord Board is aimed at raising the tax bite to 13.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product from its present level of about 12 percent.

The lack of consensus among the deputies and the request to investigate whether the leader of the main opposition party has received bribes has threatened the passage of the fiscal package.

Guatemala Slows Down Investment in Infrastructure

June 2009

In the first quarter $123 million were not executed and the contraction will be for more than $430 million in the second quarter.

The drop in tax collections has forced the Guatemalan government to set in motion a plan of austerity regarding public finances. After having prioritized the operational expenses of administrative salaries, this has fundamentally impacted capital investment.

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