To thwart tax dodgers, all transactions in Mexico must now have an electronic bill, says The Economist.
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Until April 1, when e-invoices became the rule, there was an entire trade surrounding the manufacturing of fake paper receipts. The country lost $3.4 billion in tax revenue between 2007 and 2009 because of invoicing scams, according to the national tax agency. Now, business has dried up, says one receipt-peddler.
Mexico’s tax system is based on invoices, not bank transaction records, says The Economist. It’s now the first country to mandate electronic receipts for all transactions, not just ones between businesses. The receipts are uploaded almost instantly to the national tax authority.
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