On September 19th, 2024 the Uruguayan Government approved the Tax Information Exchange Agreement Uruguay had entered into with the United States (the “US”) in 2023 (the “Agreement”).
The Agreement is aimed at facilitating the mutual exchange of tax information between both countries.
In order to mitigate the risk of fishing expeditions, the Agreement provides that the information requests will be admissible as long as the information requested will be relevant for the calculation and collection of taxes and/or the investigation and prosecution of tax related cases.
The Agreement excludes the exchange of tax information involving tax periods expired prior to its entry into force, unless the information request is made in the context of a criminal proceeding.
In addition to customary provisions for this type of treaties, the Agreement provides for the possibility of:
(i) Conducting tax inspections in the other country (i.e., interviewing individuals and examining records with the consent of the authorities of both countries).
(ii) Agreeing on the conditions of an eventual spontaneous and automatic transmission of information (including banking information).
The Agreement will enter into force one month counted as from notification by Uruguay to the US of the approval of the Agreement.
As of today, Uruguay is a party to more than fifteen tax information exchange agreements. Considering that the US is one of Uruguay’s main business partners, from a practical perspective the Agreement is scheduled to become one of the most relevant ones.
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The above communication has been prepared just for information purposes. It cannot be construed as legal advice provided by Bergstein Abogados. Should you have any further question, please feel free to contact Dr. Domingo Pereira (dpereira@bergsteinlaw.com) and/or Dr. Jonás Bergstein (jbergstein@bergsteinlaw.com)