Pay More Taxes, Whatever

There is no way to get lost in the woods. Tax collections have not increased much in the time of the so-called Fourth Transformation (4T). México Evalúa provides data: in 2021, tax revenue increased by only 2.8% compared to the end of 2018, the last year of the previous six-year term; Inadequate growth to ease the pressures the government is facing with public spending.

Today, experts say the elements that are available warn of concern given that incomes do not outweigh spending, fiscal reform is not in the government’s strategy, oil earnings register an erratic behavior and pension spending. One is Snowball.

Since it is not possible to get money out of stones, what is being so feared is taking shape: squeezing more out of ordinary taxpayers.

And there are many ways to achieve this.

In accordance with Article 22-D of the Federal Tax Code, in its Section VI, the days for determining the return (or not) of taxes for the SAT in 2021 were extended to a total of 80 business days, or four months. , The process goes more or less like this: the SAT has 40 days to process the refund request and another 20 days can pass if it needs more information (during the same period, the taxpayer is obliged to respond ); Afterwards, the SAT has another 20 days to request more information or take a home tour.

An eternity, more so now when companies need liquidity or individuals need to resolve certain contingencies. The lengthy process discourages requests for returns. “It is impressive how this has grown the collection. The non-return has favored the SAT to have more revenue. The tax authority has charged more badly,” says Mariana Campos, coordinator of the Public Expenditure Program of Mexico Ivalua.

As for dimension: in 2021, the Treasury offset 974,000 million pesos (mdp), 17% (195,000 mdp), lower than in 2018, the last year of the previous six-year term, Mexico Evala reported in its El SAT and I have said. Collection for constraint. “That is, without reviving the economy or raising taxes, it managed to extract additional resources from taxpayers, for an amount that would be enough to pay pensions for the elderly in 2021 (135,000 million pesos),” they said. it is said.

There are other ways. According to the opinion of the accountants who asked for anonymity, the inspection is reaching extremes which may be to the extent of harassment. “Since the introduction of electronic accounting and the issuance of CFDI (Digital Tax Receipts by Internet), SAT audits in real time; something that is not bad at all, but sometimes it happens that we have an older brother Which only wants to make life more difficult for the taxpayers”, says one of them.

But there are other ways to this story. You need two to dance tango and, therefore, not many contributors have been little angels. Mexico collects 25% less than Latin America and the Caribbean, which tells us that we have not evolved towards better financial transparency and, as a result, it is unable to receive enough money in services critical to the fulfillment of human rights. doesn’t help. Another story, which is also scandalous, is that of the Billers.

On the other hand, other measures have been announced: recently, the Supreme Court upheld that SAT can access banking privacy information of individuals and companies without a court order; Whereas Morena proposes to charge tax from influencers for advertising in his content. What is behind all this? Government’s urgency, whatever it may be, to capture more income.

Note: Article 32-B of the Tax Code has allowed for decades that when the SAT is under control or collection process, the SAT can request information from the CNBV and any bank. This isn’t an invention of the so-called 4T, it’s years old for one very simple reason: Bank accounts are part of a taxpayer’s accounting. What the Court recognized is that SHCP officers can request information for tax purposes. So, this is not only the SAT, but also the FIU, the financial attorney of the Federation.