The objective is to lower the price in the metropolitan area of Uruguay. The FA proposed setting the values, but the idea did not prosper.
In the context of the water crisis, the Senate approved the bill to exempt bottled water taxes, one of the measures that the government decided to face the water emergency in Montevideo and the metropolitan area of Uruguay, decreed last Monday by President Luis Lacalle Pou.
The initiative was voted on by all the political parties and passed to Deputies, where it will be submitted to a new vote. The project contemplates Exonerate mineral waters and sodas from VAT “until the date of completion of the declaration of water emergency”.
Another of the recitals of the measure aims to generate “a VAT refund regime included in local purchases and imports of goods and services intended to directly and indirectly integrate the cost of the goods included in the aforementioned disposals.”
The Broad Front proposed fixing the price of bottled water
During the debate, the Broad Front proposed an addition to the bill that was not approved, which established the fixing the retail price of bottled water. This price “may not exceed the average value of the sale to the public as of May 31, 2023 resulting from the report published by the Consumer Price Information System, deducting all tax charges,” the statement presented by the senator established. Sebastian Sabini.
The senator pointed out that the government arrived late to a proposal that had already been made by the FA on May 10. On the other hand, when justifying the initiative that was discarded, he stressed the importance of setting a price since tax exemption is not enough. “People are going to pay what they put in front of them if you need to buy water. We must ensure that the price goes down and reaches the families, and with this project it is not guaranteed, ”he estimated.
Sebastian Sabini
Complaints to the government
In the presentation of the additive, Sabini took the opportunity to recriminate some actions (or non-actions) of the government. “From the announcements of the Secretary of the Presidency, Alvaro Delgadoon May 16, nothing was accomplished, decided to save 20 million dollars, do nothing and wait for it to rain. They told people they were going to bring in a desalination plant in a week and they couldn’t even handle that. You cannot be so irresponsible, pointed out the Frente Amplista senator.
On the other hand, he complained that the quality of the water could not be guaranteed as promised. in that same sense He recriminated that the OSE rate is not lowered and he mentioned the uncertainty due to the importation of pipes from Brazil and Argentina for the construction of the connection of the San José river with the Santa Lucía, a project announced this week by President Lacalle Pou.
Source: Ambito
