In any case, he clarified that they will make their opinion known “about that tribute or any other we have the project, the technicians analyze it and there we can give an opinion”. Given the insistence regarding the position of the industrialists, Funes de Rioja reiterated that “We have not entered into the analysis of a project that we do not know”. Although, he remarked, on more than one occasion that “We are not in favor of new taxes.”
He explained that the general position of the Industrial Union is in against the creation of taxes “while accepting that”In fiscal matters, we are concerned because the accumulation of national and provincial taxes and municipal fees have a very strong influence on certain activities.. And, we do not want economy in black but commend it in white”, I assert.
In the meeting that lasted an hour and a half, it was the framework for the UIA to present its proposal contained in the White Paper prepared by the business center, which contains the proposals of the industrialists for the sustained development of the industry. This initiative will be presented this Wednesday to the head of the Chamber of Deputies, Serge Massa.
The meeting, which began around 4:30 p.m. at the Government House, was requested by the manufacturing entity. The UIA was attended by the president of the entity, Daniel Funes from Rioja; Vice President of Industrial Development, Luis Betnaza; the regional vice president, Adrián Kaufmann Brea; the secretary, Miguel Ángel Rodríguez; and Vice President Guillermo Moretti.
The proposal contained in the White Paper sets as objectives the creation of 268,000 jobs, that industrial exports increase by at least USD 14,200 M to return to the maximum per capita (950 USD per capita). Create 7,400 exporting companies to reach the maximum of 3.7 companies per 10,000 inhabitants and provide sustainability to a growth process in the external sector.
Unexpected Rent
Last week, the Minister of Economy, Martín Guzmán, raised the possibility that companies with extraordinary profits in recent times, pay a tribute on that profit margin, with the aim of paying a bonus to retirees, pensioners, monotributistas and workers. informal, as a measure to cushion the effects of inflation. At first, it was thought that this meeting with the UIA responded to the call made by the Minister of Economy, Martin Guzman last Monday to discuss the initiative with business sectors before submitting it to Congress.
For this reason, it was surprising that during the meeting the subject was not discussed. The Secretary of Economic Relations, Cecilia Todesca admitted that “a team from the Ministry of Economy is working on the project” but said “she does not know the details” of the initiative.
It should be remembered that various business sectors came out to question the project since the terms, conditions and scope of the tax on unexpected income are not known. What is known so far is that it targets companies that had net profits of more than $1,000 million in the year, Guzman explained.
The lack of details and the fact that this issue was not on the agenda in the dialogue with the UIA confirms the impression that this “unexpected rent” initiative is still far from becoming a bill.
In addition, on the other hand, it was possible to grant a bonus and improve official aid for the most vulnerable sectors with contributions and reallocation of items without affecting the fiscal goals committed to with the IMF.
In any case, the industrialists in the White Paper that they delivered to the president, emphasize the obstacle that the fiscal issue means to be able to grow. They affirm that the maximum tax rate in Argentina “is well above the average for Latin America.” What the increase from 30% to 35% in 2021 places it as the highest in the region.”
For this reason they propose as an objective: “rreduce the administrative burden faced by companies” as well as “adapt certain aspects of the regulations”. In addition, they identified “necessary reforms in various regulations and more agile mechanisms that require a Nation-provincial commitment.”
The UIA also proposes:
- Resuming the progressive reduction of the tax rate on gross income.
- The industry should be exempt in 2022 according to the original Tax Consensus, but the new text permanently establishes a maximum rate of 1.5% for this sector.
- For the time being, establish a commitment not to increase rates.
- Unify collection regimes or, at least, provide them with best practices so that they respect their essence and do not generate constant balances in favor.
- Implement effective and rapid return, compensation and transfer of balances in favor.
- Reduce the administrative burden of provincial taxes (homogenization of criteria, unified electronic tax domicile, publication of unified coefficients on the web, etc.
- Resume the commitment of the original fiscal consensus to monitor municipal rates to ensure that they are related to the provision of service and proportional to its cost, as well as that they do not exceed municipal powers.
Gas
The theme of the development of Vaca Muerta was also discussed, in this sense Funes de Rioja said that they intended to celebrate the Day of the Industry in Vaca Muerta.
He acknowledged that at the moment there is no lack of gas and that last week they had a “good meeting with the Secretary of Energy, Darío Martinez” to analyze the issue.
If necessary, the idea is to be able to “self-regulate” in case it is necessary to apply cuts in certain sectors. Although, he pointed out that at the moment there are no problems.
The industrialists left satisfied to see that the government is determined to advance in the construction of the Néstor Kirchner Gas Pipeline and that, they observed, an interest in developing Vaca Muerta’s potential more quickly.
Source: Ambito
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