Bolivia

2025 General State Budget

In January 2025, Law 1613 was enacted to approve the government budget for the fiscal year 2025, which authorises the Ministry of Economy to: (i) raise public debt in external capital markets for an amount up to 3 billion United States dollars (USD) or its equivalent in other foreign currencies with a tax exemption on related interest and (ii) to manage and enhance transactions involving certified Emission Reduction Units (Carbon Credits or Bonds) including signing, negotiating, transferring, and using them as collateral or for future sales. In particular, Law 1613 exempts from corporate income tax (CIT) interest income from public debt through the issuance of securities in external capital markets and repurchase agreement operations involving securities issued by the Bolivian Government, including the provision of legal, financial, and other advisory services related to the operation of public debt in external capital markets and carbon market operations.

Furthermore, Law 1613 establishes tax incentives in connection with:

• the import and sales of capital goods and industrial plants within the domestic market (i.e. exemption of payment of VAT for importations and application of a zero-rate VAT in respect of local sales);
• the import of crude oil, gasoline for motor vehicles and diesel oil by legal entities and individuals (i.e. exemption of payment of VAT for importation of the previously mentioned goods);
• domestic sales of soybean, cusi, totaí, and other cultivated or wild species and/or their derivatives, exclusively intended to produce biodiesel and/or ecological diesel for Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB) plants (i.e. exemption of payment of Transaction Tax and application of a zero-rate VAT in respect of local sales); and
• the total or partial reinvestment of profits or dividends obtained in Bolivia by non-resident shareholders (i.e. reduction of withholding taxes (12.5%) based on the percentage of reinvestment of profits/dividends.

Tax incentives on the import and sale of capital goods

Law 1613 establishes tax incentives for the economic reactivation and promotion of the importation substitution policy, for which it is established the following:

• VAT exemption on the importation of capital goods and industrial plants for the agricultural and industrial sectors.
• Zero-rate VAT for sales within the domestic market of capital goods and industrial plants for the agricultural, construction, mining, and industrial sectors.

These tax incentives have a period of one year commencing from 1 January 2025 until 31 December 2025.