Uruguay considers taxation of online services

The Uruguay Economy and Finance Ministry is reportedly preparing a decree that would block illegal online gambling through internet service providers as it continues to consider regulatory reform for the eventual legalisation and regulation of unregulated online service sectors.

According to local media outlet el Observador, a series of articles published by the Ministry of Finance point towards the possible establishment of a regulatory and tax regime which forms part of a larger conversation concerning global streaming companies such as Netflix and Spotify.

In the meantime, according to undersecretary of Economy and Finance, Pablo Ferreri, the Government is “beginning to study the possibility” of drafting a decree that will establish prohibitions that are “protected by the current legal framework” and which would involve blocking the “signals of online gambling.”

“We have no problem making it clear that online gambling, when not authorized by the corresponding mechanisms, is an illegal activity,” Ferreri said.