Ir al menú de navegación principal Ir al contenido principal Ir al pie de página del sitio
logo

Artículos de Revisión

Vol. 5 Núm. 11 (2025): Concordia

Impuesto sobre impuesto y carga tributaria: revisión comparativa América-Europa

Tax on tax and the effective tax burden: A comparative review of the Americas and Europe
Publicado
2025-11-06

El fenómeno del “impuesto sobre impuesto” representa una distorsión fiscal que incrementa la carga tributaria efectiva, vulnerando principios de equidad y eficiencia. Este estudio analiza su incidencia en América y Europa, con énfasis en Bolivia. Mediante una revisión documental sistemática y análisis comparativo, se examinaron más de 50 fuentes académicas y técnicas (2015–2024) de Scopus, Web of Science, Scielo y repositorios de la OCDE, CEPAL y FMI, aplicando operadores booleanos para identificar casos en sectores clave. Se encontró que la imposición acumulativa eleva la carga fiscal entre un 10 % y un 20 % en energía, telecomunicaciones y transporte. En Bolivia, el Impuesto a las Transacciones (IT) se aplica sobre montos que incluyen IVA, sin derecho a crédito fiscal, generando doble tributación estructural. Esta práctica distorsiona precios, reduce competitividad y fomenta la informalidad. Se concluye que es urgente reformar los sistemas tributarios mediante armonización fiscal, eliminación de superposiciones y mecanismos de crédito, especialmente en países con impuestos no acreditable como Bolivia.

The tax-on-tax phenomenon constitutes a fiscal distortion that increases the effective tax burden, undermining equity and efficiency. This study analyzes its prevalence and mechanisms in the Americas and Europe, with emphasis on Bolivia. Using a systematic documentary review and comparative analysis, more than 50 academic and technical sources (2015–2024) were examined from Scopus, Web of Science, SciELO, and the repositories of the OECD, ECLAC, and the IMF, employing Boolean operators to identify cases in key sectors. Cumulative taxation was found to raise the tax burden by 10–20 percent in energy, telecommunications, and transportation. In Bolivia, the Transactions Tax (Impuesto a las Transacciones, IT) is levied on the basis that it already includes VAT, without an input credit, generating structural double taxation. This practice distorts prices, reduces competitiveness, and fosters informality. The study concludes that urgent reform is needed through fiscal harmonization, the elimination of cascading and overlapping taxes, and credit/offset mechanisms, particularly in countries where some taxes are noncreditable, as with Bolivia’s IT.

Número:
Vol. 5 Núm. 11 (2025): Concordia
Sección:
Artículos de Revisión

Referencias

  1. Amores, A. F., Maier, S., y Ricci, M. (2023). Taxing household energy consumption in the EU: The tax burden and its redistributive effect. Energy Policy, 182, 113721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113721
  2. Atkinson, A. B., y Stiglitz, J. E. (2015). Lectures on Public Economics. Princeton University Press. https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781400866250_A24656452/preview-9781400866250_A24656452.pdf
  3. Atria, J. (2023). No taxation without efficiency? Elite perceptions of redistribution and progressivity in Chile. Journal of Latin American Studies, 55(1), 103-128. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=8862666
  4. Benítez-Aurioles, B. (2022). PIKETTY, Thomas (2021), Una breve historia de la igualdad, Ediciones Deusto, Barcelona. Revista Empresa y Humanismo, 183-185. https://revistas.unav.edu/index.php/empresa-y-humanismo/article/download/42368/35999 Piketty, T. (2029). Capital e ideología. Editorial Deusto. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/libro?codigo=742544
  5. Bigsten, A. (2024). Atkinson on Inequality. Inequality: Economic and Social Issues, 95-111. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003387114-8
  6. Castañeda-Rodríguez, V. M. (2025). Association between tax morale and the perceptions around tax compliance: an empirical study for Latin America. International Review of Economics, 72(2), 16. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12232-025-00487-w
  7. Claveria, O. (2025). Do taxes and transfers stimulate development in Latin America?. Public Finance Review, 53(2), 200-225. https://doi.org/10.1177/10911421241296208
  8. Fang, H., Gu, Q., y Zhou, L. A. (2019). The gradients of power: Evidence from the Chinese housing market. Journal of Public Economics, 176, 32-52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2019.05.004
  9. Granda-Carvajal, C., y García-Callejas, D. (2023). Informality, tax policy and the business cycle: exploring the links. International Tax and Public Finance, 30(1), 114-166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10797-021-09717-7
  10. Hesami, S., Jenkins, H., y Jenkins, G. P. (2024). Digital transformation of tax administration and compliance: A systematic literature review on E-Invoicing and prefilled returns. Digital Government: Research and Practice, 5(3), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643687
  11. Mora, N., y Villalba, L. E. (2024). Armonización fiscal: Asimetrías normativas en financiamientos implícitos entre partes vinculadas. Orbis: revista de Ciencias Humanas, 20(59), 16-35. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=10290614
  12. Nunes, R. (2025). The formation of the public agenda in the Brazilian tax reform: difficulties, coalitions, and impacts. Journal of Economics, Finance and Accounting Studies, 7(2), 148-162. https://doi.org/10.32996/jefas.2025.7.2.13
  13. OCDE. (2021). Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean 2021. OECD Publishing.https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2021/04/revenue-statistics-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-2021_607dd9f0/96ce5287-en-es.pdf
  14. Palma, J. G., y Pincus, J. (2022). América Latina y el Sudeste Asiático. Dos modelos de desarrollo, pero la misma “trampa del ingreso medio”: rentas fáciles crean élites indolentes. El trimestre económico, 89(354), 613-681. https://doi.org/10.20430/ete.v89i354.1509
  15. Tyurina, Y., Frumina, S., Demidova, S., Kairbekuly, A., y Kakaulina, M. (2023). Estimation of tax expenditures stimulating the energy sector development and the use of alternative energy sources in OECD countries. Energies, 16(6), 2652. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16062652