The director of the Tax Office, Pía Biestro, should have appeared on Wednesday. From the portfolio they assure that the issue “continues to be analyzed.”
He Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) postponed his appearance before the Parliament which should have taken place yesterday and in which I should have explained the “tax to the inheritancea tribute that does not exist until now in Uruguay but, according to deputies and AFAP, It was established by a government decree published in December.
“Since the issue is still being analyzed by the technical services of this Ministry and, at the direction of the undersecretary, we request an extension of the date of appearance of the MEF at the Finance Commission”, the portfolio requested through an email, thus justifying the need to postpone the appearance called by the deputy of the Colorado Party, Conrado Rodríguez.
According to the legislator, as well as the AFAP Associationthe decree that the government published last December establishes that if a person dies before receiving his retirement, the capital he has accumulated in the Private Savings Fund Administrator can be reached by the Social Security Assistance Tax (IASS)even when transformed into an inheritance asset.
Likewise, the social security reform approved last year established a incentive for those who decide to delay their retirement for up to three years, allowing in those cases the withdrawal of up to 9% of the capital in the AFAP. This capital would also be taxed by the IASS from the decree.
Due to this situation and the understanding that a new tax by decree —something that is not legal—, the AFAP Association filed an appeal with the MEF; while Rodríguez requested the appearance in Parliament of the portfolio led by Azucena Arbeleche. The objective was that whoever attended would be the director of the Tax Advisory, Pía Biestro. But finally the meeting was postponed because the issue “is still under analysis.”
The defense of the MEF prior to the postponement of the appearance
In the Finance Commission, the MEF’s request was surprising, since the same ministry had previously publicly defended the decree and, now, says that the issue “continues to be analyzed.”
The issue was put on the table at the end of the MEF accountability conference in February, and the undersecretary Alejandro Irastorza who answered the question of the journalist who consulted about it: “Here what we maintain is the criteria of the entire pension system and taxes and discounts. That criterion is exonerated, exonerated, taxed. Obviously you are exempt at the beginning when you work because you have the deductions, the AFAP are exempt because (your income) is exempt and you are taxed at the end with the IASS,” she explained.
In that sense, he pointed out that the new taxed capital is passivities or similar items and that, therefore, it is correct that they be reached by the IASS.
Source: Ambito
