The Mexican IRS a newer version of “Big Brother.”

MEXICO (Times Media Mexico) – There is a major concern raised by the proposal for auditors of the Tax Administration Service (SAT) to take photographs and/or videos during home visits, the head of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), Arturo Herrera, said that taxpayers might also capture images or make video recordings as means of defense.

On Tuesday, during his appearance before the Senate Plenary on the occasion of Economic Package 2021 and the Gloss of the Second Government Report, the official said that, although he has explained the implications of this proposal of the Treasury in the Miscellaneous Fiscal, it is still not clear the scope of the proposal that would give new powers to the Treasury.

Herrera explained that the new faculty requested for the SAT in terms of taking photos and videos to verify that the fiscal domiciles of individuals and companies correspond with those of the authority registered through the Federal Taxpayers Registry (RFC).

He assured that it is very frequent that auditors come to verify the addresses of companies that appear as factories before the RFC, but that, at the time of the visit, what the SAT personnel find is a vacant lot.

Therefore, with the proposal to take photos and videos, what would be achieved is that the auditor would document that in the address registered by the taxpayer, there is not a factory but a vacant lot.

Likewise, he added that with the new faculty, the auditors would also document if a business claims to sell drinks with a certain label they have to have the label.

“Before to document the same, you had to arrive with a notary, which was much clearer, but besides, the legal possibility to do that (take pictures and video) is two-way; also the taxpayer can take pictures of this if you want to defend from the SAT,” he said.

The Mexican Institute of Public Accountants (IMCP) warned in recent days that the use of photographs and videos during home visits would become acts of inspection within a company that, in addition to implying a “sharpening” of the inspection, could violate people’s constitutional rights.