Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

la mora

English translation:

failure to pay

Added to glossary by Charles Davis
Apr 10, 2017 06:45
7 yrs ago
8 viewers *
Spanish term

la mora

Spanish to English Law/Patents Finance (general) Tax system in Nicaragua
I'm having difficulty distinguishing between items (ii) and (iii). If (iii) is 'failure to file, or delayed filing, of the tax declaration' would "la mora" be 'default'? What would the difference be?
(For (iv) I have opted to say 'tax infringement', though it's not clear to me what that means.)

189. Las infracciones tributarias están definidas como toda acción u omisión al cumplimiento de los deberes sustanciales del contribuyente que provoca un perjuicio pecuniario al fisco y que implica violación de leyes y reglamentos tributarios . Son infracciones tributarias: (i) las infracciones administrativas, (ii) **la mora**, (iii) la omisión o presentación tardía de la declaración de impuestos y (iv) la contravención tributaria .
Change log

Apr 11, 2017 11:16: Charles Davis Created KOG entry

Discussion

Muriel Vasconcellos (asker) Apr 11, 2017:
Thank you! Many thanks to all three answerers. Wish I could split up the points. Neil, I did use 'delinquency' elsewhere in the text; it was a helpful solution.

Proposed translations

+2
1 hr
Selected

failure to pay

First things first: let's make sure what "mora" means in Nicaraguan tax law:

"Arto. 130. Constituye mora la falta total o parcial de pago de los tributos desde el vencimiento del plazo para su cumplimiento, sin necesidad de requerimiento alguno."

OK, but then article 131 indicates that it includes late filing:

"Toda persona que presente tardíamente su declaración y/o pago de tributos y por tal motivo incurra en mora, deberá pagar el crédito correspondiente con un recargo del 5 % (cinco por ciento) por cada mes o fracción de mes de mora [...]"
Código Tributario de Nicaragua
http://www.dgi.gob.ni/documentos/Ley_562_CODIGO_TRIBUTARIO_D...

However, in your text late filing is item (iii), so they're using "mora" in (ii) to mean just not paying on time.

If you want to use IRS terms, they use "default" for when you miss a payment in an installment scheme agreed with the IRS for payment of unpaid taxes. More generally, failure to pay by the due date is referred to as "failure to pay", though they also refer to "late paying". I'd recommend "failure to pay", because after all, in theory it could be that the tax is never paid at all. Note that the failure-to-pay penalty in the US is exactly the same as the mora penalty in Nicaragua.

"1. Two penalties may apply. If you file your federal tax return late and owe tax with the return, two penalties may apply. The first is a failure-to-file penalty for late filing. The second is a failure-to-pay penalty for paying late. [...]
4. Penalty for late payment. The failure-to-pay penalty is generally 0.5 percent per month of your unpaid taxes. It applies for each month or part of a month your taxes remain unpaid and starts accruing the day after taxes are due. It can build up to as much as 25 percent of your unpaid taxes."
https://www.irs.gov/uac/what-to-know-about-late-filing-and-l...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2017-04-10 08:20:18 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Pardon me, it's not the same penalty: the penalty in Nicaragua is ten times greater! The IRS is actually pretty kind to taxpayers in some ways, though their documentation is notoriously user-unfriendly.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2017-04-10 08:23:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

For "contravención tributaria" you could use "tax violation", which is pretty common in legal contexts in the US.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2017-04-10 08:29:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

By the way, I'm interested to see that the IRS treats late filing more severely than late payment. My brother tells me it's the same with HMRC in the UK, and I know to my cost that it's the same in Spain; I was once fined for late filing of a VAT return, despite the fact that there was nothing to pay.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2017-04-10 09:20:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

That was nice of them! I can't help wondering whether the refund was a mistake, but a good result anyway. VAT inspectors are particularly fierce, and that seems to be the same everywhere, probably because there's so much VAT fraud (it's systemic in Spain).
Note from asker:
Thanks for your thoroughness, Charles. Very helpful!! As usual. You ask about late filing in the US. Last year I was in the middle of a huge translation and didn't have time to prepare my papers before the deadline--for the first time in my life. I actually filed 3 weeks late and owed them a small amount of money, which I included. The fine was $176--well worth the piece of mind, IMO--and I was happy to pay it. Then a few months later they sent me a check for $176 for "overpayment"!
Peer comment(s):

agree AllegroTrans
2 hrs
Thanks, Chris
agree Ana Claudia Macoretta
16 days
Thank you, Ana Claudia :)
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you, Charles, as always."
1 hr

default

As "failure to pay on due date".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2017-04-10 08:08:30 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

To present a "declaración" is not the same as paying an amount which is due.

Late filing is not the same as late payment.
https://www.google.pt/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&es...
Note from asker:
Tanks, Ana. How would you say this is different from "(iii) la omisión o presentación tardía de la declaración de impuestos"?
Something went wrong...
1 hr

delinquency

Webster: 2 : a debt on which payment is overdue.

NB: This always makes me think of juvenile delinquents, but I've seen it used a lot in American texts to talk about payment defaulters.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2017-04-10 08:34:26 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

PS: Charles usually has a better explanation....
Note from asker:
Thanks, Neil. I like it. Yes, Charles' answer is very helpful, too. Wish I could split the points!
Peer comment(s):

neutral AllegroTrans : Never heard of the UK tax office chasing delinquents
2 hrs
Tax dodgers are just another type of "delinquent"... :)
Something went wrong...
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search