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Mexico: Ecological taxes in the State of Guanajuato effective fiscal year 2023

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In brief

On 30 November 2022, Legislative Decree Number 111 was published in the Official Gazette of the Government of the State of Guanajuato.

The Decree, which came into effect 1 January 2023, added “Ecological Taxes for Environmental Remediation,” to the Finance Law for the State of Guanajuato under Chapter Eight, Title Two and established three ecological taxes:

1. Environmental remediation tax for the emission of polluting gases.

  • Individuals, legal entities and economic units residing in the State of Guanajuato that have facilities or fixed sources in which activities are developed that generate emissions that pollute the atmosphere in an aggravating manner in the territory of the State are obligated to pay this tax.
  • The tax is levied at the time taxpayers make aggravating emissions into the atmosphere and will be calculated by applying a tax rate the equivalent of MXN 250 per ton of carbon dioxide emitted or the conversion thereof.

2. Environmental remediation tax for the emission of pollutants into the soil, subsoil and water.

  • Those that deposit, dispose or discharge polluting substances into the soil, subsoil or water within the State of Guanajuato are subject to the tax.
  • The tax is assessed by applying two tax rates: i) soil and subsoil: equivalent to MXN 25 for each 100 square meters affected with polluting substances; and ii) water: equivalent to MXN 100 for each cubic meter affected in wastewater with polluting substances.

3. Tax for environmental remediation for the deposit or storage of waste.

  • Individuals, legal entities and economic units that by themselves or through intermediaries, deposit or store waste in public or private landfills located in the State of Guanajuato, and which upon their release into the environment are a toxic or dangerous constituent that affects human health or ecosystems, are required to pay this tax.
  • This tax is assessed at a rate of MXN 100 per ton of waste deposited or stored in public or private landfills.

Taxpayers that are required to declare, determine and pay the above mentioned environmental remediation ecological taxes, must file monthly declarations, and if applicable, the payment of the tax due for the months of January to April of the fiscal year 2023 and from 1 May to 22 May 2023, through the forms and means that the Tax Administration Service of the State of Guanajuato will publish through general provisions.

The Executive Branch of the State of Guanajuato has 180 days from 1 December 2022, to adapt the respective regulations and other general administrative provisions to clarify the mechanisms for determining the tax and its payment methods.

In order to avoid being required to pay any of these taxes, legal and business entities should perform a detailed analysis of their activities carried out to evaluate: i) whether or not they are subject to the payment of such taxes; ii) the methods for determining the tax; and iii) the payment thereof.

The environmental taxes may be challenged through an Amparo Petition that could be filed within 15 business days from the day after the first payment of any of the three environmental taxes mentioned above is made.

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At Baker McKenzie, our team of lawyers and professionals are available to assist clients to design and implement a strategy that allows your company to preform an analysis to ensure compliance of these new taxes, and if necessary, challenge the issuance of any new taxes by the tax authorities.

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Author

Luis Carbajo advises multinationals on international tax planning, M&A, cross-border transactions and other business issues. He is an adviser of the tax committee of the National Maquiladora Council. Luis frequently authors tax articles in Tax Notes International and the Practical Mexican Tax Strategies magazine. He also speaks at various seminars organized by CANIETI, CANACINTRA, Tax Executives Institute, Executive Enterprise Institute, Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá and the local Maquiladora Associations across Mexico. Luis focuses his practice on litigating and lobbying highly complex issues in the energy sector. He has extensive experience advising on permanent establishment issues, inter-company pricing, taxation of non-resident entities and individuals, and other corporate and tax matters such as VAT, assets tax, planning and litigation on social security contributions, and local and municipal taxes. His practice also covers tax planning and transfer pricing, particularly in the energy sector.

Author

Juan Carlos Valles is a Partner from the Tax Practice Group, he regularly advises clients in the areas of international tax planning, permanent establishment, taxation of non-residents, cross-border transactions, corporate taxes, flat tax and value added tax. Valles previously worked as a member of the Firm’s Foreign Trade and Customs Practice Group for several years, where he assisted several companies on Mexico’s network of free trade agreements and other legal matters related to the international trade regulation and customs legislation.

Author

Graco Sáenz is a senior associate and member of Baker McKenzie's Tax Practice Group in Mexico City. A George Town graduate, Graco has 16 years of experience and has served on practice in the private sector. He has actively collaborated with large firms in Mexico that represent multimillion-dollar tax restructuring / tax assessments and tax litigations, giving fresh and innovated solutions. In addition to his practice, he taught as a professor at the Univeridad Humanitas for the LLM Tax Law course, and as a professor assistant at the Universidad Iberoamericana for Financial Law course. He has authored numerous publications on subjects related to his field. He has authored two academic thesis: "Green Taxes in Mexico" and "The Unconstitutionality of the Mexican Flat Tax." Graco's clients include multinational companies in the real estate, gas and oil, energy, manufacturing, media and entertainment, telecommunication, bank, financial services, food industry, insurance and pharmaceutical industries.

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