Bolivia: Proposal to tax foreign suppliers of digital services

The Bolivian government proposed a measure to extend the country’s value-added tax to digital services provided by overseas platforms, the Ministry of Economy and Public Finances said on the 27th of April.

With a 13% VAT rate, the proposal would raise 30 million Bolivian boliviano ($4.4 million) annually, Deputy Minister for Tax Policy Jhonny Morales said in an announcement.

“This figure will grow over time as the digital market expands until where almost everything is digital,” he said.

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The government said the measure would level the playing field between global tech giants like Amazon.com Inc. and Netflix Inc. and Bolivian businesses.

It is proposed in the draft Bill that Bolivia’s current standard VAT rate of 13% will be applied to digital services provided by foreign digital businesses, including digital platforms. Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube were specifically mentioned in the government announcement.