Tax planning and business profitability in micro and small commercial enterprises
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Micro and small commercial enterprises in Latin America face recurrent tax pressure, relatively low productivity, and administrative constraints that may affect their liquidity, profitability, and operational continuity. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between tax planning and business profitability in micro and small commercial enterprises. A qualitative, documentary, non-experimental, longitudinal, and regional case-study approach was adopted, based on the review of scientific literature, institutional reports, and empirical evidence published between 2020 and 2025, using deductive and inductive reasoning and thematic analysis matrices. The results identified five core tax-planning practices: tax scheduling, documentary control, accounting advice, review of legal tax benefits, and prevention of contingencies. They also revealed financial vulnerability expressed in declining sales, tax pressure, and the presence of losses or minimal profits in the microenterprises analyzed. The discussion suggests that tax planning is indirectly related to profitability by organizing obligations, protecting liquidity, and reducing fiscal risks, without establishing causality. It is concluded that tax planning constitutes a relevant preventive practice for strengthening the financial stability of small-scale commercial enterprises.
Downloads
Article Details
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
References
Alvarez-Villagómez, J. V., & Concha-Ramírez, J. A. (2025). Incidencia de la crisis energética en los costos de producción en empresas manufactureras. Revista Científica Zambos, 4(1), 226-248. https://doi.org/10.69484/rcz/v4/n1/88
Angueta- López, M. P., Quimbita-Tarco, H. A., & ArcosNaranjo, E. V. (2025). Evolución de las empresas fantasmas e inexistentes y el perjuicio causado al estado Ecuatoriano del, 2017 al 2023. Revista Científica Zambos, 4(1), 45-60. https://doi.org/10.69484/rcz/v4/n1/75
Appiah, T., Domeher, D., y Agana, J. A. (2024). Tax knowledge, trust in government, and voluntary tax compliance: Insights from an emerging economy. SAGE Open, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241234757
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE Publications. https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/thematic-analysis/book248481
Carrera-Torrales, D. S., & Rivera-Pizarro, C. F. (2025). Análisis financiero para la correcta toma de decisiones a la compañía boutique Sports JyJ en la ciudad de Guayaquil período 2022-2023. Revista Científica Zambos, 4(1), 205-225. https://doi.org/10.69484/rcz/v4/n1/87
Casanova-Villalba, C. I. (2024). Evaluación de la eficacia de la auditoría remota en la era postpandémica. Revista Científica Ciencia Y Método, 2(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.55813/gaea/rcym/v2/n2/39
Casanova-Villalba, C. I., & Hurtado-Guevara, R. F. (2023). Auditoría fiscal y evasión tributaria mediante un enfoque sustentado en evidencia empírica reciente. Multidisciplinary Collaborative Journal, 1(1), 39–51. https://doi.org/10.70881/mcj/v1/n1/10
Casanova-Villalba, C. I., Herrera-Sánchez, M. J., & Almeida-Blacio, J. H. (2025). Aplicaciones de inteligencia artificial en la auditoría financiera contemporánea. Revista Científica Ciencia Y Método, 3(2), 30-43. https://doi.org/10.55813/gaea/rcym/v3/n2/3
Casanova-Villalba, C. I., Proaño-González, E. A., Macias-Loor, J. M., & Ruiz-López, S. E. (2023). La contabilidad de costos y su incidencia en la rentabilidad de las PYMES. Journal of Economic and Social Science Research, 3(1), 17–30. https://doi.org/10.55813/gaea/jessr/v3/n1/59
Centro de Escritura Javeriano. (2020). Normas APA, séptima edición. Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Seccional Cali. https://www2.javerianacali.edu.co/centro-escritura/recursos/manual-de-normas-apa-septima-edicion
Coello-Zavala, N. J., & Concha-Ramírez, J. A. (2025). Análisis de la incidencia de la IA aplicada en el asesoramiento financiero y tributario de 2020-2024 . Journal of Economic and Social Science Research, 5(1), 245–264. https://doi.org/10.55813/gaea/jessr/v5/n1/175
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2023). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (6th ed.). SAGE Publications. https://edge.sagepub.com/creswellrd6e
Desai, M. A., & Dharmapala, D. (2006). Corporate tax avoidance and high-powered incentives. Journal of Financial Economics, 79(1), 145–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfineco.2005.02.002
Duhoon, A., & Singh, M. (2023). Corporate tax avoidance: A systematic literature review and future research directions. LBS Journal of Management & Research, 21(2), 197–217. https://doi.org/10.1108/LBSJMR-12-2022-0082
Dyreng, S. D., Hanlon, M., & Maydew, E. L. (2008). Long-run corporate tax avoidance. The Accounting Review, 83(1), 61–82. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr.2008.83.1.61
Espinoza-Párraga, L. E., & Carvajal-Salgado, A. L. (2025). Análisis comparativo de la captación y colocación de recursos en las cooperativas del segmento 1 en Ecuador durante dos tetramestres del año 2024. Journal of Economic and Social Science Research, 5(1), 35–51. https://doi.org/10.55813/gaea/jessr/v5/n1/159
Espinoza-Párraga, L. E., Rosado-Párraga, L. N., Valdez-Tigre, R. O., & Orozco-Orozco, H. A. (2025). Percepción de estudiantes de tercer semestre sobre el aprendizaje Inicial de las NIIF en la preparación de estados financieros desde el punto de vista de dos universidades públicas. Revista Científica Zambos, 4(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.69484/rcz/v4/n1/71
Estacio-Larcos, M. P., & Concha-Ramírez, J. A. (2025). Análisis de las empresas fantasmas y su impacto en la recaudación tributaria en el Caso Marin . Journal of Economic and Social Science Research, 5(1), 284–305. https://doi.org/10.55813/gaea/jessr/v5/n1/177
Flick, U. (2022). An introduction to qualitative research (7th ed.). SAGE Publications. https://books.google.com/books/about/An_Introduction_to_Qualitative_Research.html?id=RR1tEAAAQBAJ
González, D. (2024). Regímenes especiales de tributación para contribuyentes con menor capacidad contributiva: Teoría y estrategias en la política y la administración tributaria en América Latina. Centro Interamericano de Administraciones Tributarias. https://www.ciat.org/Biblioteca/DocumentosTecnicos/Espanol/2024_Regimenes_Especiales_Tributaci%C3%B3n_Gonzalez.pdf
Graham, J. R., Hanlon, M., Shevlin, T., & Shroff, N. (2014). Incentives for tax planning and avoidance: Evidence from the field. The Accounting Review, 89(3), 991–1023. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-50678
Hanlon, M., & Heitzman, S. (2010). A review of tax research. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 50(2–3), 127–178. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacceco.2010.09.002
Herrera Sánchez, M. J., Casanova Villalba, C. I., Silva Alvarado, G. S., & Parraga Pether, P. V. (2021). Cultura tributaria mediante la capacitación contable a pequeñas y medianas empresas en Ecuador. Journal of Business and Entrepreneurial Studie, (E1). https://journalbusinesses.com/index.php/revista/article/view/260
Herrera-Sánche, M. J. (2024). Transformación digital en la auditoría interna y su efecto en la eficiencia operativa. Revista Científica Ciencia Y Método, 2(3), 13-25. https://doi.org/10.55813/gaea/rcym/v2/n3/45
Herrera-Sánchez, M. J., Navarrete-Zambrano, C. M., Núñez-Liberio, R. V., & López-Pérez, P. J. (2023). Elementos de un sistema de costeo para la producción de Sacha Inchi. Journal of Economic and Social Science Research, 3(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.55813/gaea/jessr/v3/n1/58
Loor-Pincay, A. D., & Estefano, M. A. (2025). Evaluación del impacto del blockchain en la transformación de la auditoría financiera. Journal of Economic and Social Science Research, 5(1), 228–244. https://doi.org/10.55813/gaea/jessr/v5/n1/174
Navarrete-Zambrano, C. M. (2024). Normas internacionales de información financiera, su aplicación financiera, contable y tributaria. Editorial Grupo AEA. https://doi.org/10.55813/egaea.l.70
OECD, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations, & Inter-American Development Bank. (2025). Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean 2025. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/7594fbdd-en
OECD. (2021). Building tax culture, compliance and citizenship: A global source book on taxpayer education (2nd ed.). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/18585eb1-en
OECD/CAF/SELA. (2024). SME Policy Index: Latin America and the Caribbean 2024: Towards an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable recovery. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/ba028c1d-en
Paredes-Torres, M., Cando-Zumba, A. d. R., & Varela-Aldás, J. (2022). Income tax for microenterprises in the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study on Ecuador. Sustainability, 14(5), 2537. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052537
PricewaterhouseCoopers & World Bank Group. (2019). Paying Taxes 2020. PwC. https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/paying-taxes/pdf/pwc-paying-taxes-2020.pdf
Reymundo-Soto, E., Fernández-Condori, X. P., Echevarria-Quispe, E. V., Quispe-Cusi, Y., Gutiérrez-Quispe, E. Z., Palacios-Aguilar, L. J., & Ramírez-Laurente, A. J. (2023). Obligaciones tributarias y su influencia en la recaudación fiscal de las micro y pequeñas empresas. Editorial Grupo AEA. https://doi.org/10.55813/egaea.l.2022.35
Sánchez-Ballesta, J. P., & Yagüe, J. (2024). Does tax avoidance affect productivity in SMEs? Management Decision, 62(10), 3261–3285. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-07-2023-1159
Saunders, M. N. K., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2023). Research methods for business students (9th ed.). Pearson. https://www.pearson.com/nl/en_NL/higher-education/subject-catalogue/business-and-management/saunders-research-methods-for-business-students-9ed.html
Scholes, M. S., Wolfson, M. A., Erickson, M., Hanlon, M., Maydew, E. L., & Shevlin, T. (2015). Taxes and business strategy: A planning approach (5th ed.). Pearson. https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/books/taxes-business-strategy-5th-edition
Slemrod, J. (2007). Cheating ourselves: The economics of tax evasion. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 21(1), 25–48. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.21.1.25
Tracy, S. J. (2024). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact (3rd ed.). Wiley. https://www.wiley.com/en-us/qualitative-research-methods-collecting-evidence-crafting-analysis-communicating-impact-3rd-edition-p-9781119988670
World Bank Enterprise Surveys. (s. f.). Enterprise Surveys. https://www.enterprisesurveys.org/en/enterprisesurveys
World Bank. (2020). Doing Business 2020: Comparing business regulation in 190 economies. World Bank. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/688761571934946384/pdf/Doing-Business-2020-Comparing-Business-Regulation-in-190-Economies.pdf
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). SAGE Publications. https://collegepublishing.sagepub.com/products/case-study-research-and-applications-6-250150