With 123 votes in favor, 20 against and four abstentions, the Chilean Deputies Chamber approved VAT payment (19%) on digital platform’s monthly subscriptions. The initiative had been announced by Chilean Finance Minister, Felipe Larrain.  

The Government’s proposal consist of ‘a specific, indirect and substitute tax for any other, on digital platforms provided by people or entities established or residing abroad, regardless of the place where the server or technology platform that support them are located, in case these services are used in Chile by natural users”.

Services affected by the measure are those which includes ‘images, movies, series, videos, music, games and any other digital entertainment service, through download, streaming or other technology’.

Also included are ‘paid services for foreign advertising and use and subscription of Internet technology service platforms’ and those for ‘data storage, regarding the technological operation used, such as cloud services or software as services’. It was also detailed that the tax ‘will be applied without taking the technological device used to connect to the Internet or any adaptation or application of protocols, platforms or the technology used by the Internet or other network into consideration’.