Tax News May 2026

Welcome to a new edition of Siglo BPO's Tax News. In this issue, we bring together the main tax developments and interpretative criteria published between April and May 2026, with an impact on companies that operate or maintain interests in different markets in the region.

The objective of this content is to facilitate clear, organized, and useful reading on regulatory changes, reporting obligations, prescription criteria, IFRS application, and relevant tax treatments. Below, you will find country-by-country details to support compliance management and business decision-making with updated information.

Countries included: Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru.

COLOMBIA

Suspension of Decree 572 of 2025 Regarding Withholding Tax

DIAN Notice N° 70, dated 05/08/2026.

As of May 8, 2026, withholding agents must apply the bases and rates for self-withholdings and withholdings, according to the provisions of Decree 1625 of 2016 that were in effect before being replaced by Decree 572 of 2025.

Regarding Article 8 of Decree 572 of 2025, the following link contains a comparison table of suspended rates and rates applicable as of May 8, 2026.

https://cutt.ly/gtX9MQwe

Panama

Determination of the commencement and interruption of the municipal tax statute of limitations

C-SAM-29-26, dated April 28, 2026.

General Considerations on Prescription in Municipal Tax Matters

In municipal tax matters, prescription requires a structured distinction between the phase of administrative determination of the obligation and the phase of enforcement through coercive collection. This is because each phase involves different dynamics, actions, and legal effects that directly impact the calculation, suspension, or interruption of the corresponding deadlines.

Likewise, it should not be overlooked that this ruling is issued in general terms and with a guiding purpose, based on the elements presented in the consultation; therefore, the concrete application of the criteria set forth herein must take into account, in each case, the factual and legal particularities that concur, to the extent that identical scenarios do not exist and each situation may present relevant nuances for the determination of its legal effects.

Legal regime for the prescription of municipal tax obligations

Given the foregoing, it is appropriate to develop the applicable criteria regarding the statute of limitations for municipal tax obligations. To this end, it is essential to first distinguish the nature of the obligations involved, as this determines not only the applicable period, but also the moment from which its computation must begin.

Along these lines, and in accordance with the criterion supported by the Public Prosecutor's Office for Administration, two clearly differentiated categories can be identified: on the one hand, municipal taxes incurred, including their surcharges and interest, and on the other hand, sanctions arising from the non-fulfillment of formal duties, particularly fines for the non-submission of tax returns.

Differentiated analysis according to the nature of the obligation

Prescription of municipal taxes

Thus, regarding municipal taxes, the applicable legal regime is provided for in Article 96 of Law 106 of 1973, which establishes a statute of limitations of five (5) years.

Now, from reading this provision, the computation of this period must begin from the moment the taxable event occurs, that is, when the tax obligation arises, regardless of whether or not it has been declared by the taxpayer or subsequently determined by the Administration.

Consequently, administrative acts of determination, such as tax assessments, do not have the power to restart or establish a new starting point for the statute of limitations, as their function is limited to quantifying a pre-existing obligation.

Interruption of the term of prescription in coercive collection

Notwithstanding the foregoing, and with regard to the interruption of the statute of limitations, it is worth noting that the case law of the Third Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice, in rulings dated April 6, 2016, and December 30, 2025, has consistently recognized that service of the Executive Order issuing a payment order constitutes an act sufficient to produce that effect, insofar as it is equivalent, in the context of enforcement proceedings, to the filing of a complaint in judicial proceedings.

However, it should be noted that this interruptive effect only operates in cases where the statute of limitations has not already expired, as otherwise, the obligation is legally extinguished and cannot be revived by subsequent actions of the Administration.

Prescription of fines for failure to file returns

On the other hand, regarding fines imposed for failure to file returns, their treatment follows a different logic, as they are tax penalties resulting from the commission of an infraction.

In this case, the applicable regulatory framework is found in Article 88, numeral 2, letter b of the Tax Procedure Code (Law 76 of February 13, 2019), which establishes a statute of limitations of three (3) years, the calculation of which begins from the moment the infraction occurs, that is, from the omission of the duty to declare.

Interruption of the statute of limitations for tax penalties

In accordance with the foregoing, the interruption of this period also occurs with the notification of the Executive Order issuing the payment order, under the same conditions previously indicated, which reinforces the need for the Administration to act within the legally established deadlines.

In fact, the Supreme Court of Justice’s own case law has recognized the statute of limitations for this type of penalty when three (3) years have elapsed without effective collection proceedings having been initiated, thereby demonstrating the peremptory nature of such time limits and their direct link to the principle of legal certainty.

Conclusions

Consequently, the moment from which the statute of limitations must be calculated is directly determined by the nature of the obligation in question.
This way:

• In the case of municipal taxes, this calculation begins when the taxable event occurs.
• In the case of fines resulting from a failure to comply with formal requirements, the time limit begins to run from the date the violation occurs.
• For its part, the statute of limitations is interrupted only upon notification of the Executive Order issuing a payment order. As the Supreme Court of Justice has repeatedly held, this act marks the beginning of the enforcement proceedings and has the effect of interrupting the statute of limitations, provided that the statute of limitations has not already expired.

ECUADOR

Reforms to the use of balances of dematerialized credit notes for the extinction of tax obligations before the SRI

RESOLUTION No. NAC-DGERCGC26-00000015, dated March 31, 2026

Resolution NAC-DGERCGC21-00000051, published in the second supplement to Official Register No. 596 on December 13, 2021, is hereby amended as follows:

1. The following article shall be inserted after Article 3:

“Art. (…). Balance in the securities statement. – The entries in the account resulting from the issuance of dematerialized credit notes will form a balance that the beneficiary will have available in the securities statement on the SRI en Línea portal.”

2. Article 9 shall be replaced by the following:

“Art. 9.- Extinguishment of Obligations.- The available balance of dematerialized credit notes recorded in the securities statement of value, referred to in the unnumbered article following Article 3 of this Resolution, may be used to extinguish, in whole or in part, tax obligations, as well as the fines and interest derived therefrom, administered by the Internal Revenue Service, exclusively, in accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 43 of the Tax Code. The extinguishment process shall be carried out through the various electronic channels provided by the Tax Administration and shall be recorded in the institution's systems for the purpose of controlling available balances.”

3. The following article shall be inserted after Article 9:

“Art. (…). Use of Available Balances.- The tax liability determined in tax returns administered by the SRI, as well as any fines and interest arising therefrom, may be settled using available credit note balances on the securities account statement, up to sixty percent (60%) of the amount due on each return.

The remaining value of the tax obligation, as well as the fine and interest derived from it, must be paid through the means enabled in the “SRI en línea” system as provided by law, without considering the available balance shown on the security's account statement.

The provisions of this article shall not apply to statement balances corresponding to credit notes for the Foreign Exchange Exit Tax (ISD).

Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraphs, when there are provisions that do not allow for the total or partial settlement of tax obligations with credit notes issued by the SRI, the tax return filing system will not allow the use of the balance shown on the securities account statement.”

4. Article 10 shall be deleted.

This Resolution shall enter into force upon its publication in the Official Registry; however, the amendment to Article 9 of Resolution NAC-DGERCGC21-00000051 shall apply from May 1, 2026.

CHILE

AMENDMENT TO THE REPORTING REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO INVESTMENT FUNDS AND REPLACEMENT OF FORM NO. 1958 ON FINANCIAL ACCOUNTS RELATED TO PERSONS WITH TAX RESIDENCE ABROAD

EXEMPT RESOLUTION SII NO. 61.-, dated 04/24/2026

Resolution Ex. SII N.° 94 of 2024 is modified, incorporating new third, fourth, and fifth paragraphs after the second paragraph of Resolutive 1; consequently, the previous third paragraph becomes the sixth paragraph.

«For these purposes, Investment Funds governed by Law No. 20,712 are classified as Investment Entities pursuant to Section VIII, subsection A, item 6, sub-item a) of the aforementioned Standard. This is because, in terms of the CRS, said Funds constitute collective investment vehicles whose principal activity consists of the investment, administration, and management of financial assets on behalf and in the name of their contributors, who are considered clients of the Fund as clarified by the international standard. For their part, Fund Management Companies qualify in the same category by engaging in portfolio management and the administration of financial assets on behalf of third parties.

Considering that investment funds are special-purpose trusts without legal personality, the reporting obligation established in Article 62 ter of the Tax Code and Supreme Decree No. 418 of 2017, issued by the Ministry of the Treasury, must be fulfilled by the respective Fund Management Company. In this regard, in its capacity as the entity responsible for managing the fund on behalf of and at the risk of the investors, the Management Company shall carry out the due diligence procedures and file this Affidavit with the Tax Authority.

To comply with its reporting obligations, the Manager must file an Affidavit using the Unique Tax Identification Number (RUT) of each Investment Fund it manages and for which it maintains financial accounts subject to reporting. Likewise, it shall report on its own activities in its capacity as a financial institution, if it maintains accounts subject to reporting under the Standard. For this purpose, it may use a consolidated return, provided that the unambiguous and separate identification of each Investment Fund and the Management Company itself is guaranteed, ensuring compliance with due diligence procedures and the traceability of the information provided.».

The format and content of the Annual Affidavit on Financial Accounts Related to Persons with Tax Residency Abroad, Form No. 1958, are replaced by the following:

Formato Formulario Sworn Declaration No. 1958 https://www.sii.cl/normativa_legislacion/resoluciones/2026/reso61_anexo1.xlsx

Instructions for filling out Form No. 1958 Sworn Declaration

https://www.sii.cl/normativa_legislacion/resoluciones/2026/reso61_anexo2.docx

Costa Rica

RESOLUTION MH-DGT-RES-0015-2026 ESTABLISHES NEW INTERPRETATIVE CRITERIA ON THE APPLICATION OF IFRS IN TAX MATTERS

Memorandum CP-20-2026 from the Ministry of Finance, dated 05/04/2026.

Issuance of the Resolution on IFRS and Tax Regulations

In line with fiscal transparency policies and with the objective of providing greater legal certainty to taxpayers, establishing the guidelines for the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and strengthening control tools over large national taxpayers, the General Directorate of Taxation of the Ministry of Finance issued Resolution No. MH-DGT-RES-0015-2026 Interpretive Criteria on the Application of International Financial Reporting Standards regarding Tax Regulations, published in the Official Gazette La Gaceta No. 78, on April 29, 2026.

Effective date and financial information submission

Its entry into force will be January 1, 2027, and companies must show the information in their financial statements in accordance with what is stated in the resolution.

Objective of IFRS Implementation

With its implementation, the aim is to provide legal certainty to taxpayers and the Tax Administration, regarding the criteria, interpretation, and harmonization that should exist between tax laws and regulations, and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS or IFRS for SMEs) adopted by the College of Public Accountants of Costa Rica.

Application of IFRS for Large Taxpayers

Legal entities classified as Large Taxpayers must keep their accounting and present their financial statements in accordance with IFRS, known as “Full IFRS,” which generate greater disaggregation of information, leading to increased transparency in their operations with the tax authorities.

Application of IFRS for taxpayers in the general regime

Taxpayers under the general regime may choose to use IFRS for SMEs or “Full IFRS,” according to the information needs of their own entities or their governing bodies.

Regimes excluded from the application of the resolution

The regulations mentioned above do not apply to taxpayers registered in the “Simplified” and “Special Agricultural” regimes, according to the classification of the General Directorate of Taxation.

Exclusion of certain IFRS standards

This resolution does not include interpretations associated with IPSAS (Public Sector Accounting Standards) and IFRS S1, S2 (International Sustainability and Climate Standards).

Penalties for non-compliance

Those who fail to comply with the provisions established herein are subject to the sanctions and fines stipulated in the Tax Code of Norms and Procedures.

Scope of tax and financial treatment

Likewise, this instrument interprets how large taxpayers and those under the general regime must present information in their financial statements, and the tax treatment for matters concerning investments, inventories, property, plant and equipment, construction contracts, biological assets, intangible assets, investment properties, business combinations, among others.

Resolution inquiry

For more information, consult the resolution at the following link:

https://www.imprentanacional.go.cr/ver/pub/2026/04/29/ALCA45_29_04_2026.pdf?202601063174

Peru

Scope of Income Tax on Direct and Indirect Sale of Shares and Change of Effective Management Seat

REPORT NO. 000024-2026-SUNAT/7T0000, dated 04/29/2026

Capital Gains and Income from Peruvian Sources

According to subsection b) of Article 1 of the Income Tax Law (LIR), Income Tax taxes capital gains; whereas, according to subsection a) of Article 2 of the aforementioned law, among the operations that generate capital gains is the alienation of shares and participations representing capital.

For its part, the second paragraph of Article 6 of the LIR indicates that, in the case of taxpayers not domiciled in the country, of branches, agencies, or other permanent establishments of sole proprietorships, companies, and entities of any nature constituted abroad referred to in subsection e) of Article 7, Income Tax is levied only on taxable income from Peruvian sources.

Regarding this, subsection h) of Article 9 of the LIR states that in general, and regardless of the nationality or domicile of the parties involved in the operations and the place of execution or fulfillment of contracts, income from Peruvian sources is considered, among others, that obtained from the sale, redemption, or repurchase of shares and participations representing capital, when the companies or corporations that issued them are constituted or established in Peru.

On the other hand, subsection e) of Article 10 of the LIR provides that, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 9, income from a Peruvian source also includes that obtained from the indirect transfer of shares or participations representing the capital of legal entities domiciled in the country; considering that an indirect transfer occurs when shares or participations representing the capital of a legal entity not domiciled in the country are transferred, which in turn owns - directly or through one or more legal entities - shares or participations representing the capital of one or more legal entities domiciled in the country, provided that the conditions established in the aforementioned subsection e) are concurrently met.

From the cited regulations, it is noted that taxpayers not domiciled in the country are subject to Income Tax on their Peruvian-source income, which includes, among others, income generated from the direct and indirect transfer of shares or participations representing the capital of legal entities domiciled in the country.

Determination of the Existence of a Transfer

In that sense, for the purpose of determining whether the situation in question constitutes a direct or indirect alienation of shares representing the capital of the legal entity domiciled in Peru, it is necessary to analyze whether, upon the change of the effective management seat of the holding company, there is an alienation of the shares representing the share capital of the aforementioned domiciled legal entity.

In this regard, Article 5 of the LIR establishes that for the purposes of the LIR, "sale" is understood to mean sale, exchange, definitive assignment, expropriation, contribution to companies, contribution of assets in a partnership agreement, and, in general, any act of disposal by which ownership is transferred for valuable consideration.

In relation to the aforementioned Article 5, it should be noted that in Reports No. 056-2017-SUNAT/7T0000 and No. 076-2023-SUNAT/7T0000, this Tax Administration has stated that a transaction is onerous when benefits are granted that arise from services rendered or that the contracting party itself, who benefits, has undertaken to provide.

Therefore, for a disposition to occur, there must be a transfer for valuable consideration, understanding this as the performances made by the parties or that the beneficiary undertakes to make.

Scope of the Change of Effective Management Seat

On the other hand, it should be noted that for the purposes of this consultation, the “place of effective management” is the place where the highest-ranking person or group of persons makes their decisions, that is, the place where the actions to be carried out by the holding company as a whole are determined.

Thus, the change of location of the holding company's effective management headquarters only implies a change in the place where it makes its decisions, a situation that by itself does not produce a transfer of ownership for valuable consideration of the shares it holds, since, with the aforementioned change, neither the liquidation or dissolution of the holding company in the country of its incorporation nor the establishment of a distinct legal entity in the third foreign country occurs.

CONCLUSION:

In the case of a non-domiciled holding company, which directly and indirectly holds shares representing the capital of a legal entity domiciled in Peru, and which has changed its place of effective management – previously located in its country of incorporation – to a third country abroad, without the change involving the liquidation or dissolution of the holding company in its country of incorporation, nor the establishment of a different legal personality in the third country abroad:

The change of the effective management seat of the said company does not imply, for income tax purposes, a direct or indirect alienation of shares representing the capital of the legal entity domiciled in Peru.

Editorial closing

These updates reflect the importance of monitoring tax changes with a regional and preventive perspective. Timely management of obligations, interpretive criteria, and tax reporting allows for the anticipation of risks, strengthening of information traceability, and making decisions with greater certainty in increasingly dynamic regulatory environments.