LATAM : Foreign Investors Survey 2017
Costa Rica can boast of having a lower average level of corruption in the Region ,” says Eric Scharf , Partner of Sfera Legal . Other countries have recently approved measures , such as Guatemala , Argentina and Brazil .
As a result of the political crisis of 2015 , Guatemala has strengthened its fight against corruption and the promotion of transparency , “ a phenomenon that is reflected in the trend towards the creation of new laws and the reform of certain existing laws related to the subject : State Procurement Law , Probity Law , Preliminary Proceedings Law , among others ,” said José Guillermo Bonilla , Partner of Bonilla , Arguta , Zarceño & Alvarado ( Signature Regional Law Group ).
“ The transparency and anti-corruption framework is being promoted in Guatemala . This has been the big change over the last two years .”
ALFREDO RODRÍGUEZ MAHUAD , PARTNER , CONSORTIUM LEGAL
In Argentina , the current government has announced and implemented various regulations aimed at improving the existing framework both in transparency and anti-corruption . “ There is , however , a reasonable legal framework , and enforcement is being pursued both at the judicial and administrative levels ,” said Carlos María Tombeur , Partner of Severgnini Robiola Grinberg & Tombeur .
From its part , Brazil has made great progress in recent years in the fight against corruption , updating its regulatory framework through the adoption of a new law and its regulations . For Andoni Hernández Bengoa , Counsel in Foreign Law of Demarest Advogados , “ this is strong proof of the commitment of the competent authorities and the independence of the judiciary when implementing measures , which is always good news for investors - and a magnificent signal especially for the international ones .”
“ In Ecuador , there was a recent legal reform where a Comprehensive Criminal Code was adopted , which brings a complete regulation on Compliance and anti-corruption .”
Are fiscal frameworks suitable for foreign investment ?
This is a complex point and the answers differ by country . Bolivia , Chile , Costa Rica , Honduras , Mexico , Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay , the Dominican Republic and Uruguay appear to garner the maximum number of positive opinions , while Brazil , Colombia , Ecuador and Peru are the worst valued , with a highly complex tax system ( Brazil and Colombia ), a heavy burden on foreign investment ( Ecuador ), and a competent authority ( Peruvian ) that lacks clear guidelines and objective criteria to determine clearly what should be the role of companies as taxpayers .
Among the countries with the best rating by their lawyers , Bolivia has a very attractive tax regime compared to other countries in the Region . The IVA amounts to 13 % and the Corporate Tax to 25 %.
“ The regulation on foreign investment in the Dominican Republic ensures equality of treatment with national investment in tax matters , without any restriction on the repatriation of dividends or on the ownership of real property .”
JUAN ALCALDE , PARTNER , OMG
Chile has a law for foreign direct investment of more than $ 5 million , while Honduras is creating a broad and attractive fiscal framework for foreign investors . Nicaragua and Panama offer tax incentives in some sectors : free zones , tourism , mining and forestry , as well as Uruguay , which offers promotional regimes with significant tax benefits .
In Paraguay , “ foreign investments have the same treatment as domestic ones , and Paraguay has the lowest tax pressure in the Region for investors , both domestic and foreign ( among other interesting regimes , one can mention the maquila - which allows companies located in Paraguay to produce goods and services for export ),” comments Carlos Codas , Partner of Ferrere .
JUAN MANUEL MARCHÁN , PARTNER , PÉREZ BUSTAMANTE & PONCE
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