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ARGENTINA

Boric official resigned after it became known that he had not paid taxes for nine years

Javier Etcheberry left his position after an investigation revealed that he had not paid taxes for nine years

The director of the  Internal Revenue Service (SII) of Gabriel Boric's progressive government, Javier Etcheberry Celhay, was asked to submit his resignation after a journalistic investigation revealed that  he had not paid property taxes for nine years on one of his properties and that part of the existing constructions were not regularized.

The decision was made by order of the President, according to the Ministry of Finance.Carolina Saravia, current Deputy Director of Auditing, will assume the position on an interim basis until the end of the term.

The investigation by 24 Horas, based on documents obtained through the Transparency Law,  revealed inconsistencies in the fiscal appraisal and omissions in the payment of taxes for a property located in an exclusive condominium near the Aculeo lagoon, in the municipality of Paine.

Long, straight brown-haired woman wearing a white blazer sitting in an office with wooden furniture in the background
Carolina Saravia is the current director of the Internal Revenue Service (SII) following the resignation of Javier Etcheberry Celhay | La Derecha Diario

The property, officially registered as  a 213-square-meter (2,293-square-foot) house, also includes two additional constructions and a swimming pool that had not been declared to the municipality or incorporated into the SII's registry.

Until June 2025, the fiscal appraisal of the property  amounted to 158 million Chilean pesos, with a property tax payment of 225 thousand pesos in the second installment of the current year. However, on June 26, SII updated the value to 339 million pesos, after recognizing 527 square meters (5,672 square feet) built, which raised the actual amount Etcheberry should have paid to 638 thousand pesos.

The agency explained that the difference was due to a "update of the relevant information for the property  within the real estate registry", incorporating "unregistered modifications and extensions".

When asked by local media, Etcheberry stated that he has tried to regularize the property for years:  "We have made multiple efforts to register the house. The truth is that in many places, if one wanted to request all the permits before building or expanding, one couldn't do it".

He also added:

Gray-haired man in a suit and yellow tie smiling in front of a Chilean flag and a wooden background
Javier Etcheberry Celhay - Former Director of the Internal Revenue Service (SII) | La Derecha Diario
"For more than 15 years, I've been making unbelievable efforts to register the house. I hired an architect, I've taken steps, I've commissioned studies, but it has been impossible"

The situation raised questions about probity and consistency within the tax agency, especially after Etcheberry downplayed citizen complaints about the increase in property tax weeks ago, stating that these came from "only the richest 20% of the country".

From Congress, both government and opposition legislators supported the Executive's decision to request his departure, highlighting the need to maintain high standards in tax administration.

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