According to Jorge Trujillo, director of the Servicio de Impuestos Internos (SII), even though foreign betting platforms are neither resident nor domiciled in Chile, “it is appropriate for them to declare and pay taxes.” These statements come after the debate generated by the SII’s decision to charge VAT to websites based outside the country.
Regarding the criticism received from the Chilean Casino Association, which described the SII’s resolution as a “mechanism of covert regulation”, Trujillo has stated that the VAT requirement means “solely preventing non-compliance with a regulatory regime from also resulting in an unjustified tax advantage.”
He has also emphasized that this does not mean authorizing the operation of the platforms, nor does it replace the powers of the bodies responsible for ruling on the activity.
“If the activity should not have been carried out, that must be addressed by the competent bodies in the corresponding sector. But if, in fact, operations were carried out that constitute a taxable event under current tax law, it is up to the SII to demand compliance with the respective tax obligations,” Trujillo said before the Senate Economy Committee.
He stressed that this is not about promoting an illegal activity, but about addressing a de facto situation.
“Those who are fostering illicit activities are the ones who contract advertising, sponsor events, and allow these operations to take place in the country. If the oversight exercised over this activity, as ordered by the Supreme Court, is effective, there will be no illicit activity and no tax will be charged for that reason,” he noted.
The system for foreign platforms that offer betting in Chile but are domiciled outside the country to comply with their tax obligations is already in place, according to the Diario Oficial.