New E-commerce tax for multinationals in Chile

The government of Chile is planning to include a new tax on multinational digital (e-)commerce companies with local operations. This as a part of a wider tax bill set to go to Congress this year. According to Reuters, this is what Minister of Finance, Felipe Larrain, has stated. While he did not specify what the tax will involve, it has to do with a fee on each transaction, aimed at international companies like Amazon, Netflix, Uber and Spotify. He states: "It is the government’s duty to ensure that everyone can compete on a level playing field.”

The Minister of Finance acknowledged that other countries had grappled with taxing e-commerce because companies often lack a physical presence in a country. “We are looking at other ways to apply the tax, perhaps charge a transaction fee,” Larrain said. “Estimates suggest that collecting taxes from the digital economy and digital commerce could bring in several hundred million dollars.”