Research background: Following the global trends concerning “tourism taxation,” South American governments identified and applied policies on taxation to raise revenues or fiscal relaxation measures to support their tourism sectors as strategies to increase its number of tourists, competitiveness, and the attractiveness of its destinations. Due to the COVID-19 threat, several countries have been forced to turn to emergency tax breaks and temporary changes in taxation measures. Purpose of the article: This research aims to determine which taxes, fees, and charges that affect the tourism sector in South American countries have been reduced/removed as a short-term measure to support tourism during the COVID-19 crisis. Methods: The paper is structured from deductive reasoning, which moves from a general to a more specific analysis. First, a basic description of the tax system’s specifications that affect South America’s tourism sector is presented based on comparative information in the form of an inventory of tourism-related taxes, based on an analytical study. With data obtained from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and other international organizations which are tracking the policies’ responses to COVID-19, an assessment of the key policy responses from these countries related to “tourism taxation” will be made and compared with other regions. Findings & Value added: The contribution presented focuses on exploring and describing the role of taxes used as a measure to support the tourism sector. Then, the tax incentives/reduction or removal made as a government response to the coronavirus pandemic threat and its possible impacts were analyzed. It also highlights recent trends and interesting practices in South America.

The presented contribution focuses on describing the Value Added Tax refund to foreign tourists, specifically the Tax-Free Shopping incentive, that increases tourists’ propensity to buy retail goods where shopping can even sometimes be the primary reason for traveling. To have a practical analysis and comparison, four economies from South America were chosen. Colombia and Ecuador whose tax-refund system is entirely operated by the State and Argentina and Uruguay whose governments have decided to outsource their VAT refund service to tourists having private companies operate them. Adding to this, an evaluation of the main characteristics of these countries regarding the competitiveness of their tourism sector was gathered with data obtained from the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) Report (2019). The findings of this research provide a benchmark to tourism policymakers interested in assessing changes overtime on this type of incentive.