On January 29, Congress adopted the final report on the tax modernization bill, as the Senate had previously approved it with 35 votes in favor and none against. The Chamber of Deputies approved the text with 97 votes in favor, 33 against and 3 abstentions. The initiative will now be sent to the Executive for enactment.

During the discussion in the Chamber of Deputies, legislator Jaime Mulet (PDC – opposition), who voted against the reform, stressed that the sectors contributing the least to the new tax scheme are in fact “the richest sectors.” He said that effectively, VAT “will be applied electronically to smaller traders, and will ultimately be paid by the most vulnerable sectors. Taxes will also be levied on digital platforms, Netflix, Spotify, and others that all Chileans are paying for as well. Little will be collected from the richest sectors.”

The vote on the tax reform was held again on the floors of both chambers as the texts previously approved in these two chambers differed. The main controversy centered on the drafting of an article on green taxes, prompting legislators to convene a joint bicameral committee to draft a single text for endorsement by both chambers prior to adopting the regulations.