The United States is in a process of legal changes framed in the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) or business transparency law, by which it is intended to establish the communication of final beneficiaries to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) of the USA, by the corporate structures incorporated there or those foreigners that carry out commercial activities in the US.
Although the norm was approved by the US Congress on January 1, 2021 through the defense law, there were still many aspects to clarify and polish through the regulations, so that said communication of final beneficiaries is really done. effective.
It is in this sense, through this Newsletter we want to send you the latest updates regarding this matter and keep you informed about the progress.

The world is on the way to transparency and this fact may be motivated by the fiscal voracity of the great powers, by an objective of social justice or perhaps to prevent money laundering and criminal activities, each one will have their own assessments in this regard. , the truth is that offshore jurisdictions have not been immune to this trend, and many times under pressure from the great powers that question their credibility and even threaten to incorporate them into blacklists, they have had to gradually adapt their legislation.

We are pleased to announce the publication in Thomson Reuters Argentina | LEGAL and Thomson Reuters Uy of the article referring to Trusts and their impact in Latin America prepared by our partner and director Augusto Tachini.

At times, like the current one, where political instability reigns in much of Latin America, it is always important to look for alternatives that protect our heritage and guarantee an orderly succession for our heirs.

In this sense, the Trust has become an excellent tool that guarantees tailor-made succession planning, ideal asset protection and many times significant tax savings on the assets contributed there.

Although the figure of the Trust has hundreds of years of history in the common law or better known as “Common Law”, it has taken special relevance in the region in the last decades. This appearance of the Trust as an element to be considered, arises as a consequence of the political, social and economic instability that is experienced in several Latin American countries, which has led families of high patrimonies to the need to safeguard their wealth in the face of the aforementioned vicissitudes, and at the same time, to think of a succession planning that allows them to guard and maintain their wealth throughout the generations.

Given the favorable evolution of the pandemic in Uruguay, mainly as a result of the strong vaccination campaign promoted by the Government (to date, a percentage greater than 70% of the population immunized with two doses of any of the vaccines against the COVID-19, and already about 10% of it has a third booster dose from the Pfizer laboratory), the entry of foreigners into the country has gradually begun to be made more flexible through the opening of borders (both land, as air and sea).

On January 1, 2021, the United States Congress (USA) approved the defense law that includes the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) or corporate transparency law.
It aims to increase the transparency of corporate structures in the US with the justification of combating money laundering and terrorist financing, being, perhaps, one of the greatest advances in recent years, in what regards this issue by the jurisdiction.
Although the fulfillment of the CTA does not begin until January 2022, the deadline for Congress to promulgate its regulations, in general terms, the regulations establish the obligation to inform by the American companies or societies, the final beneficiaries of the The same to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN), the body in charge of carrying out financial intelligence in the US, which will have to prepare a private registry in the next year in which all the information regarding said final beneficiaries is communicated.

On January 29, 2021, the regulation of the “Solidarity and Extraordinary Contribution to help mitigate the effects of the Pandemic” was approved in Argentina, through decree 42/2021, law 27,605 (“Tax on Wealth”), which It became effective on December 18, 2020.
Said regulation enables the collection of the so-called solidarity contribution to be started and confirmed several controversial aspects of the law, among others:
• Taxes equity variations prior to the effective date of the law,
• Taxes people with assets and tax residence outside of Argentina,
• Taxes the patrimony of the people, doubling the Personal Property tax,
• Discriminates against taxpayers with assets abroad versus assets in Argentina,

Although the wealth tax (IP) is a tax that is rarely applied worldwide, it still applies in Uruguay. For this reason, and taking into account that on December 31 of each year is when the photo is taken for the payment of said tax for most taxpayers, we believe it is appropriate to refresh some concepts, and, above all, see the possible measures that can be taken in order to position itself in the most efficient way possible against it.

Those Argentines who currently have assets in Argentina or abroad that exceed $ 200,000,000, approximately USD 2.5MM considering the current official exchange rate (this amount in USD may continue to decline if we consider the devaluation trend of the exchange rate in Argentina) must pay this tax.

All Entities (exempt and non-exempt) must file a Simplified Tax Return (DJ) annually with the Nevis Tax Authority. As of 2020, for those active companies registered until December 31, 2019, and as of 2021, for those companies incorporated as of January 1, 2020.

Causes for the entry of foreigners to Uruguay in times of Pandemic Thanks to a correct sanitary and economic management of the pandemic, the confidence

Since the emergence of COVID-19, Uruguay has aroused strong interest worldwide as one of the countries that best managed the health crisis.
In the following post, we will reveal some benefits of Uruguay from a tax point of view that allows it to be a jurisdiction to be considered by foreigners when looking for a country that offers tax advantages, legal and political stability to settle and develop business or make investments.

To reduce the negative economic impact that the COVID-19 pandemic will leave, the Uruguayan government further encourages the attractiveness for foreigners settling in the country, and promotes benefits for foreigners who wish to settle Tax Residence.

Most of the countries have already taken internal measures to alleviate the situation, but also, with the intention of generating global criteria that tend to improve the world situation uniformly, international organizations have been involved.
In this regard, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has not been left behind, and in recent months it has published some fiscal recommendations that could be applied by the administrations of the different affected countries, with the aim of mitigate the impact that the crisis is generating on its companies and citizens. Until now, the OECD has always worked to increase revenue by rounding up taxpayers. For the first time, thanks to the COVID 19 crisis, the OECD recommends lowering taxes, among other reliefs for taxpayers.

Law of solidarity and productive reactivation in Argentina and its impact on the Trust As of the approval of the so-called “Solidarity and Productive Reactivation

In line with the legal changes proposed by the OECD regarding tax avoidance and following in the footsteps of other jurisdictions called “offshore”, Belize has approved its substance law (hereinafter “The Law”) at the end of 2019, which it shares almost entirely the characteristics of the substance law approved by BVI in early 2019.
The Law exhaustively mentions which activities will be considered relevant and that, therefore, they must meet certain substance requirements unless they fall under one of the exceptions mentioned below.

To find out what type of substance is required and which companies must comply with the new regulations, read the full report here.

Understanding that financial institutions located outside of the US Not subject to the same controls as domestic financial institutions, Foreign Bank Account Reporting (FBAR) is used by the United States. as a tool to identify individuals in the broad sense, physical and legal, who could be using financial accounts outside the US to circumvent US law
Read the full report here.

The last tax reform in Argentina in 2017 determined that legal structures of any nature, where Argentine taxpayers maintain control, direct or indirect, will be considered transparent and assets and earnings are taxed on the taxpayer’s head with control. The same reform clarifies that the Fiscal Authority will not have tax authority over an irrevocable foreign trust, with independent trustees and discretionary beneficiaries. Consequently, if an Argentine wants to protect his assets from taxes, traps, embargoes or another type of outburst, he has two options: contribute them to a Trust or move to another country.

After weeks, some press versions emerged that mentioned the automatic exchange of information between Argentina and the United States. as a reality or as a question that was about to materialize.

With the aim of shedding a little light on the subject, in the following article we will clarify what the current situation of each of the countries is regarding the automatic exchange of information and how the agreement that exists today between both countries regarding this affair.

One of the ways to obtain Fiscal Residence in Uruguay is to stay 183 days in a year. The method is free and allows sporadic departures of less than 30 days, that added to the 6-year tax holidays created a perfect combo of change of Residence and Tax Planning. But be careful, the Uruguayan tax authorities reject the applications for Fiscal Residence for abuse of sporadic departures.

BVI postpones the day to comply with the economic substance requirements set forth in Art. 2018, for October 1, 2019.
Said requirements are applicable to the companies and limited liability companies incorporated in said jurisdiction. To find out what type of substance is required and which companies must comply with the new regulations, read the full report.

One way to obtain tax residence in Uruguay by a foreign resident is to demonstrate that their economic interests are in the country, and one of the ways to prove it is through their investments in national territory.
This scheme added to the Tax Holiday of Uruguay for new tax residents forms a very interesting tax residence and tax planning package.
Read the full report on tax residency in Uruguay, including practical considerations for the real estate investment option.

An unmissable summary, with updated references of the latest fiscal reforms in the region. Did you want to know how wealthy families protect their wealth, pay less taxes and plan successively?
In this report written by Dr. Augusto Tachini, a lawyer specialized in trust and international taxes, learn in detail: what is a Trust, how it works and what types of Trusts exist. Learn how the legal bases for recognizing the figure of Trust and supporting tax deferral are regulated in the region, specifically in Argentina and Uruguay. Learn how the Eurnekian case ended in the sale of Cablevisión in Argentina and how the Tax Authorities in Uruguay chose to grant tax advantages to the Trust as long as it is not from a tax haven.

At last! The OECD recognizes for the first time flaws in the exchange of information by the United States. In its latest peer report on fiscal transparency, the OECD downgraded the note as punishment for the United States. for not improving the information exchange processes with other countries.
Learn about the latest statistics on information exchange and the inefficiencies found in the American system.

Learn in detail how the Software regime works in Uruguay after the country has made certain changes in its regulations as we briefly list below:
• Software exemptions are increased in Uruguay, before they were only granted to exporters, now developers with Uruguayan clients are included.
• Increase production, substance and transparency requirements.
• Increased formal requirements in the Affidavit.

Through IRS Form Federal 5472 amended in December 2018, American LLCs with foreign owners must report transactions between the company and its shareholders, including detailed information on the shareholders.
The goal of the American government is to look for transactions that should pay taxes in the form of withholding and are not doing so. The fines for not reporting the Form in a timely manner range from USD 10,000 to 25,000.

The last Tax Reform in Argentina legalized the figure of the foreign Trust (Trust) as an accepted vehicle when it is properly structured. This is the vehicle used by high wealth families worldwide for estate planning, estate protection and tax planning. Read how this works, how you can improve your tax exposure while creating adequate family planning and protection in this report.

The CRS law is not the same in all countries, it includes in addition to laws, IT systems and many dedicated resources and in fact the standard itself continues to change as it progresses. However, we can identify some points that are always in common and that are the backbone of the CRS. Financial Institutions must report reportable account information to their tax authority, which will be in charge of sending the information to the counterparties via special software.

Panama passed its primary CRS legislation in 2016, then passed a second law in 2017, and for it to be applicable from 2018, the regulatory decree was published on December 26, 2017.
The same thing happened in the Bahamas where even the authorities published the obligations and deadlines for depositary, custodian and investment entities here.

This confusion is not new, I remember back in 2010 the messages from Swiss bankers about the end of bank secrecy were very confusing. Some mentioned that it was over and others that it was not, others affirmed that transparency was approaching but only for Europe and the United States. For international tax specialists, the answer was clear: it was the end of the Swiss Bank Secrecy and there was no going back.