On June 17, Laws No. 21.353 and No. 21.354 were published in the Official Gazette, which establish a series of tax measures, as well as fiscal charge bonds, in order to alleviate the effects of the crisis generated by Covid-19. The first of these measures is intended to support micro, small and medium-sized companies, and the second to support micro and small companies that meet the legal requirements.

The tax measures contemplated in Law No. 21.353 consist of:

1. Temporary reduction of penal interest rate for SMEs: For those SMEs that comply with the requirements to benefit from the Pro SME Regime, the penal interest rate is temporarily reduced to zero, for each month or fraction of a month, in case of delinquency in the payment of any kind of taxes and contributions owed, with respect to the drafts made by the SII. This measure will be in force as from July 1, 2021 until December 31 of the same year.

2. Refund of remaining VAT tax credit to SMEs: For those companies that meet the requirements to qualify for the Pro SME Regime, and that keep a Purchase and Sales Register, the option is established to request a refund of the accumulated remaining VAT tax credit determined from the VAT return made in the months of July, August and September 2021, corresponding to the tax periods of June, July and August 2021. The Treasury will pay up to an amount equivalent to the amount of the remainder determined in accordance with the rules of Article 23 of the Sales and Services Tax Law. In order to access such refund, taxpayers must comply, as of the date of filing the application, with the following copulative requirements:

a.  To have obtained income from sales and services of the line of business in at least 2 months, continuous or discontinuous, in the period between January 1 and May 31, 2021;

b. That the return for the month of June 2021 results in a remaining VAT tax credit, generated by the acquisition of goods or use of services between March 1 and May 31, 2021;

c. Not being in the causes b) and d) of Art. 59 bis of the Tax Code, that is to say, having repeatedly incurred in the infractions established in numbers 6, 7 or 15 of Article 97 of the referred norm; or, the taxpayer being formalized or accused according to the Criminal Procedural Code for tax crime, or being condemned for this type of crimes while serving his sentence;

d. To have filed all VAT returns for the last 36 tax periods;

e. That the operations in respect of which the refund is applicable are duly registered in the Register of Purchases and Sales;

f. Not to have any tax debt, except for those taxpayers who are in compliance with a payment agreement with the Treasury, or those who sign such agreements between June 17 and August 31, 2021.

This reimbursement may only be requested once, in any of the months of July, August or September, up to the limit of the remaining tax credit, determined in accordance with the rules of Article 23 of the Sales and Services Tax Law.

3. Extension of validity of provisional patents: For all those provisional patents that have expired during the validity of Decree No. 4 of 2020, of the Ministry of Health, which decrees sanitary alert, and its extensions. These will remain in force until the term of one year, which will be counted from the day after the sanitary alert established by the referred decree or its extensions is terminated.

4. Flexibility of payment agreements: It establishes that as from June 17, 2021 and until December 31 of the same year, exceptionally, the Treasury Service shall grant facilities of up to 4 years for the payment in periodic installments of the taxes owed. Likewise, at the date of execution of the respective agreement with the Treasury Service, the latter will waive all interest and penalties for late payment of taxes that are overdue as of June 30, 2021. Said agreements will not generate interest and penalties as long as the debtor is in compliance and keeps the payment agreement in force.

The same power is contemplated for municipalities with respect to municipal patents and patents on the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Law No. 21,354 establishes, among other measures:

1. Relief bonus to micro and small companies: For one time only, a tax charge bonus is granted amounting to $1,000,000 for individuals and legal entities that have started activities taxed with First Category Tax as of March 31, 2020, which copulatively:

a. Have annual income from sales and services in excess of 0.01 and less than 25,000 UF in the calendar year 2020;

b. Have obtained income from sales and services for at least 2 months, continuous or discontinuous, during the calendar years 2020 or 2021; or, have hired at least one worker during the calendar year 2020, according to the sworn statement No. 1887 on salaries, filed with the SII;

c. They meet the requirements to be eligible for the Pro-SME Regime; and

d. They do not perform financial and insurance activities according to the economic activity codes of the SII.

2. Additional Variable Bonus: For those taxpayers that meet the requirements of the Micro and Small Business Relief Bonus, an additional one-time tax charge bonus is established, the amount of which will be determined by multiplying by 3 the average VAT tax debit declared for sales and services for the 12 months of the calendar year 2019. However, the bonus may not exceed $2,000,000.

An increase of 20% is contemplated in both bonuses mentioned in N°1 and N°2 above, for those cases in which the taxpayer natural person and the holder of an individual limited liability company is female.

3. Bonus for the payment of contributions: For natural and legal person employers, who meet the requirements indicated in N°1 above to access the Relief Bonus for micro and small companies, whose worker or workers have had the effects of their contracts suspended, between the entry into force of Law No. 21. 227 and March 31, 2021, and who have received from the Unemployment Fund Management Company at least one payment under such suspension, may access, only once, to a tax bond equivalent to the amount necessary to finance the greater amount resulting from the accrual of social security contributions for January, February and March 2021, or the last month that records declared and unpaid contributions, if no workers were recorded during such period, as the case may be.

This bonus may only be requested by natural and legal person employers that have hired up to 49 workers as of March 31, 2021, i.e., considered as micro and small companies, in accordance with the provisions of Art. 505 bis of the Labor Code. Likewise, the income limit set forth in letter a) of No. 1 above shall not be applicable to them.

This bonus shall be exclusively destined to the payment of the social security contributions of the aforementioned workers.

The bonds mentioned in N° 1, 2 and 3 above shall not be subject to any tax.

Should you require additional information on this matter, please contact Rafael Valdivieso, rvaldivieso@jdf.cl and/or Martín Hudson, mhudson@jdf.cl