They ask the Comptroller's Office to review VAT collection on betting
Chilean deputy Diego Schalper, head of the Renovación Nacional caucus, requested that the Comptroller General of the Republic review the legality of the decision by the Internal Revenue Service to allow the collection of value-added tax from online betting platforms without domicile or residence in the country. The request comes after the service published instructions for these platforms to comply with the tax payment, which reignited the controversy over the legality of the sector.
Reportedly, Schalper met with Comptroller Dorothy Pérez on July 31 and asked her to determine whether the service's actions comply with the current legal framework, considering that the Comptroller's Office itself has already established that betting houses operate outside the Chilean legal framework. The legislator argued that this administrative act is illegal and deemed it inappropriate that, for the Ministry of Security, betting houses are illegal, while for the authorities of the Ministry of Finance, they are considered legal.
In a different stance, the president of the Tax Commission of the College of Accountants of Chile, Juan Alberto Pizarro, maintained that the service's function is to apply tax legislation and safeguard fiscal collection. Therefore, enabling mechanisms for tax declaration and payment does not imply authorizing or legitimizing an economic activity. As he explained, the discussion about legality primarily belongs to the legislative and regulatory sphere, while taxation follows a different logic.
Renovación Nacional stated that the decision to enable tax payments for online betting platforms cannot be separated from the government's political responsibility, pointing out that, although the service is an autonomous body, it also administratively depends on the Ministry of Finance.
Tags: Diego Schalper, Comptroller General of the Republic, Internal Revenue Service, VAT on betting