The ability of a Government to understand the functioning of the world legal-tax-financial system positively impacts the quality of life of the country’s inhabitants. Certainly, Uruguay understands this and other issues linked to the freedom of production to the point that, at the beginning of the 20th century, it had already reached high levels of well-being similar to the main European countries, which is why it earned the label of “the Switzerland of America“.
A century later, in 2020, Uruguay registered the highest GDP per capita in Latin America With almost u $ s 16.000, followed by Chile (US $ 13,000); One step down, are Panama and Costa Rica ($ 12,000).
Although natural resources are well considered and used, Uruguay perfectly understands – it always did – the old apothegm that reads “capitals go where they are best treated“And it was precisely in this reasoning that it has been endeavored to attract them, in seduce them, in facilitate disembarkation (and if necessary, also his departure).
Uruguay understands that being politically stable (lase “serious”), fiscally competitive, deregulating the flow of capital and simplifying corporate operations, genuine and quality work offered by multinational companies raise the quality of life of its inhabitants.
Luis Lacalle Pou, President of Uruguay
Uruguay is absolutely determined to be “the Switzerland of America XXI Century version”, and demonstrates it with concrete facts.
Due to its well-known institutional solidity, economic stability, regulatory predictability, and an acceptable independence of the Judiciary, the current president Luis Lacalle Pou has energetically deepened the conditions that have generated that Uruguay is in the sights of world capitals:
- Tax exemptions for corporations
- Tax exemptions to HNI and UHNI (persons of high and very high net worth, respectively)
Almost 2,500 tax residences requested in 2020, and around 3,000 are expected for the current year. These people buy houses, cars, send their children to paid schools, consume in supermarkets, spend on recreation, hire domestic staff, etc; energize the economy. - Development and promotion of Off-Shore Platforms
The traditional US and European banks that have been managing their commercial operations for the region from Uruguay for several years have been joined by other European international fund managers, such as Colchester, Schroders, among many others.
While some of its neighbors (like Argentina) obstruct the freedom of the market and exert unprecedented tax pressure, Uruguay redoubles the bet in the opposite direction: the current government carried out two crucial measures
- (i) rejected an initiative of the opposition that tax financial investments that Uruguayans possess abroad (a measure that stood out for its clumsiness, of course) and
- (ii) is currently engaged in achieving have their public debt securities listed in the main global clearing and settlement systems of financial assets such as Euroclear and Clearstream, which will make it even more attractive for investors from any part of the world to invest in Uruguay.
It’s all part of a plan, of a carefully designed strategy, whose final beneficiary is none other than the Uruguayan citizen himself.
* The author is a lawyer specialized in International Financial Law. Trust & Business Law (USA). He has worked at the Superior Court of Washington (St) and has been an International In-House Legal Adviser for international banks for 25 years, serving in cities such as Amsterdam, New York, Hong Kong and Geneva, among others. He is the author of the book “The World of the Off-Shore” and of several academic articles. As an international speaker, he has been interviewed by the US, European and Chinese media on Anglosaxon Trust and International Financial Law issues.
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