Reforming VAT for Digital Economy in Latin America

Abstract

The article aims at examining the issue which is both urgent and in demand in scientific space and social life: at digitalization and informatization of all spheres of modern society and, above all, in the economic sphere. In fact, digital transformations of the modern world are reflected both in the activities of businesses and in value creation processes, as the latter demands an improvement in tax policy, because the previous systems did not take into account the factor of digital commerce, thus causing the reduction of tax revenues in the budget. The main objective of the research is to analyze the specific traits of the digital transformation of Latin America economies in order to identify the features of their adjustment to the environment in order to improve the VAT collection systems. For its implementation, a systematization of the main characteristics of the digital economy was carried out noted by the OECD as urgent challenges to national fiscal systems. Among them, a special place is occupied by mobility, the development of multilateral business models, which have an impact both on the economy of the whole world in general and on Latin America in particular. The study has found that, despite a significant increase in the percentage of digital goods in total GDP, only five countries in the region, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Uruguay, have made legal changes on the issue under consideration. Besides, their different visions and some approaches to solving the problem of taxation were considered, main differences were identified, which include a definition of the digital goods and services, as well as the chosen methods of tax collection, each of them having their advantages and disadvantages. The authors explore the issue of VAT, based on the classification of the principles for applying this tax presented by the OECD – by place of origin or by purpose – since these aspects are of the utmost importance in the restructuring of national fiscal systems to the realities of the digital economy. This criterion contributed to the identification of the main models of reform, followed by highlighting their strengths and shortcomings. The chosen multifaceted analytical prism of the digital economy and the problems of taxation in the states of Latin America forms the novelty of the study, actualizing the need for the simultaneous application of various methodological approaches that identify problem areas and prove that within new standards of the digital economy there occur lots of problems, and a systematic approach to them requires further research.