Salvadoran president seeks to eliminate all taxes on tech 

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced on Thursday that he plans to present a bill to Congress next week to eliminate all taxes on technology innovations and computing and communications manufacturing. 

"Next week, I'll be sending a bill to congress to eliminate all taxes (income, property, capital gains, and import tariffs) on technology innovations, such as software programming, coding, apps, and AI development," he said on Twitter.

Next week, I’ll be sending a bill to congress to eliminate all taxes (income, property, capital gains and import tariffs) on technology innovations, such as software programming, coding, apps and AI development; as well as computing and communications hardware manufacturing.

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) March 24, 2023

Over the past few years, Bukele has sought to make El Salvador a technology hub in Central America and has launched several initiatives to boost innovation. In September 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to designate bitcoin as a legal tender alongside the dollar.

Bukele also plans to launch the world’s first “Bitcoin City”—an innovative city located in the skirts of a volcano that will be powered solely by Bitcoin. Bitcoin city will also be tax-exempt except for value-added tax. 

Many tech entrepreneurs responded positively to Bukele’s announcement, showing interest in El Salvador’s potential tax-free haven. 

“Considering El Salvador is dollarized, this incentive will likely put it at the forefront in tech Latam. If this bill gets approved, I’ll expand @Geeky_Drop to El Salvador and cancel plans to go to Costa Rica. Honestly, a no-brainer,” tweeted an entrepreneur in Panama.