The National Directorate of Tax Revenue (DNIT), Paraguay’s tax and customs authority, is preparing two priority bills to review tax benefits: one concerning corporate reserves and another concerning electric vehicles. A possible change in the tax treatment of tirzepatide is also under study. All the measures require congressional approval.
In statements to Radio Monumental AM 1080, DNIT Director Óscar Orué said the current exemptions represent about US$900 million in revenue forgone each year. He said the proposal is not to raise taxes across the board, but to review or limit existing exemptions.
The first bill would regulate the use of corporate reserves, made up of profits retained by companies and not distributed to their partners. Orué said the change “would allow the collection” of about US$100 million in additional revenue and that the text could be presented in the week following the statement. Because it requires a legal change, the proposal would still have to go through the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate.
The second bill concerns the full exemption currently granted to electric vehicles. DNIT is still measuring the impact of the change, but Orué estimated that it could generate approximately US$20 million during the remainder of the year. The projection is not a deadline for the measure, but an estimate of revenue through the end of the period.
Another possibility under consideration is applying a reduced 5% value-added tax rate, equivalent to Paraguay’s VAT, to tirzepatide, which is currently taxed at 0%. Orué preliminarily estimated that the change could add between US$20 million and US$30 million, but stressed that the issue is still under study and does not constitute a confirmed bill. He said tirzepatide is used medically to treat diabetes and is also marketed for aesthetic purposes, especially in Alto Paraná and the north of the country.
DNIT also mentioned possible reviews of reduced rates and exemptions applied to specific imports, without a defined bill at this point. The Selective Consumption Tax on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks collects about US$150 million a year, according to Orué.
On the same station, Union of Industrialists of Paraguay (UIP) President Enrique Duarte supported reviewing privileges but urged caution over special regimes. He cited maquila, an industrial-processing regime focused on exports, which generates little direct revenue but supports formal jobs and drives consumption. Duarte said the rules need to be predictable so they do not deter investment.
Duarte also supported a gradual review and more uniform tax treatment. As examples of privileges that could be reassessed, he mentioned electric vehicles and similar products, such as scooters and mini-scooters. He linked the discussion to the need to make public spending more efficient, without necessarily reducing the size of the state.