Peru’s proposed tax reform to boost revenues by $3bn

The bulk of the new revenue will come from hiking taxes on the mining sector, although Francke said in a news conference that exactly how much those rates will be increased has not been decided. Peru is the world’s No. 2 copper producer.

“Our studies show that there is room to raise (mining) taxes for those with large operational net incomes,” Francke said, providing details on a tax reform that was unveiled on Wednesday.

The South American nation is working with the International Monetary Fund in order to come up with a proposal that the government in Lima hopes will not affect the sector’s competitiveness.

Peru has one of the lowest tax-to-GDP ratios in Latin America and left-wing President Pedro Castillo has made it a cornerstone of his new administration to raise revenue in order to fund new social programs. Peru’s tax-to-GDP ratio stood at 13% in 2020, according to the finance ministry.

The tax reform proposal still needs to be approved by Congress, which is controlled by the opposition.