SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) – El Salvador’s ruling party lawmakers approved late on Monday a bill that would abolish taxes on companies developing artificial intelligence (AI) and other computer programming for 15 years. .
The technology tax cut was defended by President Nayib Bukele, who first touted the bill late last month.
Bukele’s New Ideas Party controls the country’s parliament.
The bill exempts eligible companies from paying income tax, capital gains tax, local government tax, and duties on imported goods required by technology companies.
Lawmakers approved it with 69 votes in favor of the 84-member unicameral parliament.
“With these exemptions, we are promoting the development of our country’s technology sector and manufacturing industry, which will help new industries emerge.
New tax incentives for the nascent tech sector are just the latest effort by Bukele and his allies to rebrand the Central American country as an emerging hub of innovation.
In 2021, El Salvador made waves as the first country to adopt the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as legal tender in addition to the US dollar.
Reported by Nelson Renteria. Edited by David Alire Garcia and Christopher Cushing
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