A ‘tax score’ will reveal whether the more than 2.4 million taxpayers are good or bad

The Internal Revenue Service (SRI) will implement a new score tributary, a kind of rating for taxpayers that will classify them as good or bad with colors that go from green -good contributor- to red -bad contributor-. This list, which will contain the 2.4 million taxpayers from Ecuador will be presented in the middle of the year, although it is very advanced and this same month of January tests are already being carried out. This was commented by Francisco Briones, general director of the SRI.

The score tax is part of a larger plan that the SRI has to make the collection fairer in 2023. The idea is that this information is available to all citizens and that everyone can know the score of all citizens.

Briones commented that the law prevents sharing information on control processes and taxpayer information, but this score It is a package that is built with all the information about tax payments, migratory movements, assets, type of life, which will give the result. He considers that currently the data available is not sufficient to analyze whether a person contributes sufficiently or not.

The institution will focus this year on achieving tax justice so that everyone pays everything they have to pay. For this, the director of the SRI said that well-directed efforts will be sought. He made an analogy of the difference of shoot a pellet shotgun that can go in a nonsensical direction, or shoot with a laser beam, which hits the desired target. He pointed out that for this he will focus on three pillars:

• Fair Control Plan
• Simplification Plan
• We all contribute plan

Within the first pillar are contemplated four Rapid Control Plans (tax PCR) for 2023 whose focus will be the collection of those not regularized by the Single and Temporary Voluntary Tax Regime (Rivut). There will also be a control on the post-covid capital contribution, and the unjustified increase in capital. VAT control will also be tripled and coverage will be extended to 600 large taxpayers.

Regarding the PCRs, he said that four PCRs would be carried out this year, at a rate of one per quarter, in which it is expected to control between 80 and 100 taxpayers per quarter.

Regarding the simplification plan, it is proposed, for example, eliminate the presentation of several annexes. He explained that before, when the invoices were physical, it made sense to ask the taxpayers for the annexes, but now that they are electronic, this step can be skipped. There are some annexes that will continue to be required.

The controls will also go to those who did not regularize their assets abroad. The process for this, it ended on December 31, 2022, and some $1,874 million of assets were regularized, which represented an additional collection of $92 million. This in 642 taxpayers. The SRI this year will seek to confirm the status of the balance (some $3,000 million more assets that are known are abroad). Briones reported that debt collection was also more effective and efficient during 2022. Through the tax transaction they were charged $77 million. A total of 735 procedures were received, 89 to be scheduled and 646 attended.

He explained that the collection improvement plans comply with the Guillermo Lasso government’s policy of better collecting taxes, without an increase. Thus, he said that with all the measures to be taken and putting temporary contributions aside, the collection could be increased by $1,000 million.

The second pillar that arises is continue expediting returns for the productive sector, the simplification of procedures (elimination of annexes and procedures) and the promotion of a tax culture.

The last pillar incorporates he controls influencers and to informal electronic commerce, the registration of tax anonymous and the promotion of the committee to fight against smuggling and informality.

Francisco Briones also made a positive evaluation of the collection of 2022. He explained that sales in Ecuador reached the record number of $226,631 million, which represents an increase of 13.5% compared to sales in 2021. This significant growth in sales leveraged the increase in tax collection. Between January and December 2022, the SRI collected $17,164 million, exceeding the expected goal for this period by 11% ($15,450 million), which represents an additional $1,714 million to what was budgeted. (YO)