Tax Manipulation Causes Annual Revenue Loss of Half a Billion Bolivianos

The economic damage to municipal coffers from irregular tax reductions on properties, vehicles, and business licenses has reached Bs 740 million between 2021 and 2026. This figure, detected after an audit of the revenue collection system, is equivalent to half of the municipality's annual internal revenue, which is approximately Bs 1.4 billion.

Long queues of taxpayers were observed at the Fifth Municipal platform following the report's release. The audit uncovered economic damage of Bs 120 million due to the manipulation of over 30,000 municipal patent applications and another Bs 50 million linked to 15,000 modified vehicle registrations. These add to the previously identified Bs 570 million in damages from 22,000 irregular reductions in property taxes. The Municipal Government stated that the irregularities across the three tax types represent a total impact of Bs 740 million.

Regarding the vehicle and patent report, Mayor Carlos Manuel Saavedra revealed that detected irregularities include altering vehicle characteristics to lower tax amounts. For instance, a high-end vehicle that should have paid around Bs 25,000 was listed with characteristics of a lower-value public transport vehicle, resulting in a payment of less than Bs 2,000. Modifications were also found in the economic activities used to calculate municipal patents, with higher tax-burden activities being replaced by lower-category ones in the system. "A building intended for lodging, which should have paid over Bs 5,000 for its patent, was registered as a neighborhood store, reducing the payment to Bs 82," the mayor stated.

The municipality has granted a voluntary regularization period for taxpayers flagged for vehicle and economic activity tax payments, extending until September 19. After this deadline, the municipality will publish the data of those who have not regularized their situation and will initiate legal actions. For flagged properties, the deadline is August 31, with the possibility of regularizing payments without fines or interest. Municipal Finance Secretary Carlos Schlink reported that over 100 individuals have been identified and reported to the Public Ministry for their alleged involvement in the computer modifications of vehicle and patent taxes. Investigations will aim to establish responsibility for these alterations and how the modification of tax records was permitted.

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A building intended for lodging, which should have paid over Bs 5,000 for its patent, was registered as a neighborhood store, reducing the payment to Bs 82.