Tax analysis: ‘In the country, we work 82 days a year for the State.’

The tax burden represented 22.7% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2015, according to a study by the Chamber of Industries and Production (CIP). In 2006 it was 15.9%. If the collection figures are only collected from the Internal Revenue Service (SRI), the GDP percentage rises to 13.7%. But the guild report took into account tariffs, social security contributions, Decentralized Autonomous Governments (GAD) taxes, and the workers annual profits.

Richard Martinez, Executive President of the CIP, who is also the president of the Ecuadorian Business Committee (CEE), stated during the presentation of the document, that they made this report based on methodologies of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

These agencies, Martinez said, incorporate into the estimation of the tax burden not only the collection of taxes but other items that have to be paid by individuals and companies such as social security. “Also, other types of income not collected by the IRS, but collected by Customs, such as tariffs, have a relatively high level of collection, were not accounted,” the CIP head said. According to the report, total per capita taxes between 2007 and 2015 amount to USD 773; also he said that the SRI, the Senae and the GAD collect, altogether, USD 520 per second.