The Tax Burden on Taxpayers
05:05 07/10/2024 - PesoMXN.com
By the year 2025, it is expected that taxpayer contributions to tax payments will reach 68.8% of all public revenues, marking the highest percentage recorded to date. This implies greater oversight by the tax authority to ensure compliance with tax obligations. This increase in revenue collection will be sustained thanks to measures implemented by the Tax Administration Service (SAT) since the beginning of Andrés Manuel López Obrador's administration, focusing on promoting compliance, conducting audits to oversee resources, and enhancing digital processes to facilitate tax attention and payments, as recently mentioned by President Claudia Sheinbaum.
“We will make it easier to pay taxes and carry out processes we’ve never seen before in our history. We want paperwork to move online, not for people to be standing in line,” declared Sheinbaum as she presented her 100 government commitments in the Zócalo of Mexico City on her first day in office, briefly omitting the possibility of initiating tax reform. It was also confirmed that Antonio Martínez Dagnino will continue leading the SAT, a position he has held since October 2022. “This suggests that the current enforcement and collection strategies will continue, which could provide some predictability for businesses in their tax planning and an increase in audits. Continued efforts for technological modernization are expected: improvements to the SAT's digital platforms are anticipated, making tax processes easier for taxpayers while also enhancing the authority's capacity for oversight,” explained Rolando Silva Briceño, Vice President of Taxation at the Mexican Institute of Public Accountants (IMCP). Regarding digitalization, the specialist emphasizes the importance of combining this with reforms that simplify compliance, especially for small and medium-sized businesses that operate under the individual business activity regime and have various obligations, non-compliance with which could result in tax credits or even a halt in operations. Last week, the SAT announced that starting this month, it will facilitate processes and provide support to taxpayers under the Simplified Trust Regime (Resico) in renewing their electronic signature and registering with the Federal Taxpayers Registry (RFC).
De-Petroleumization
In 2015, the drop in global oil prices impacted Mexico's public finances. Revenue from oil, which accounted for 30.7% of total public revenue in 2014, fell to 19.8%. During that same period, tax revenues that previously contributed 45% of total revenues increased to 55.3% and have continued to rise each year. By the end of 2023, these revenues represented 64.2%, while oil-derived revenues only contributed 15.3%, according to data from the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP).
In summary, the fiscal dependence on taxpayers is rising significantly, highlighting the need to simplify and improve the tax process. This could be an opportunity for authorities to implement reforms that support both efficient revenue collection and the financial health of small and medium-sized enterprises, which are essential for the country's economic growth. In a constantly changing and modernizing environment, it is crucial for taxpayers to stay informed and be prepared to adapt.
