Latin America’s best and worst tax environments.

BY LATINVEX STAFF

As Chile’s new president Michelle Bachelet plans to raise corporate taxes, a Latinvex analysis shows that Latin America’s average corporate tax rates fell from 28 percent last year to 27 percent this year.

Meanwhile, the average number of payments fell from 30 to 26.9, while the hours necessary to comply with tax payments fell slightly -- from 502 to 501.

And thanks to a dramatic reduction in the number of payments – along with a modest reduction in the hours – Guatemala has become the country with the third-best tax environment in Latin America after Chile and Colombia, according to the latest Latin America Tax Ranking from Latinvex.

The ranking is based on data from KPMG, The World Bank and The Heritage Foundation.

The ranking also shows that the Pacific Alliance has the best tax environment compared with other trade and economic groups such as Mercosur and CAFTA.

CHILE