The Minister of Economy assured that his roadmap includes eliminating the PAIS tax “before the end of the year.” In addition, he did not rule out accelerating the pace of devaluation and confirmed that plans are in place to dismantle the exchange rate “in the middle of the year.”
The Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, He assured that his roadmap includes eliminating the COUNTRY tax on operations that are paid in dollars and on the purchase of foreign currency in the official market “before the end of the year.” Besides, He did not rule out accelerating the pace of devaluation, currently at 2% per month, and confirmed that there are plans to dismantle the exchange rate “in the middle of the year.”
On the other hand, he trusted that by mid-2024 the inflation could once again hit single digits monthly. In the same interview, he confirmed that the Government will set the minimum wage by decree and that pensions will rise 30% in March, to which a bonus will be added.
“We are committed to reducing the PAIS tax. We have set our sights on removing it as soon as possible and it should not happen beyond this year,” said Caputo. This tax makes the purchase of foreign currency for savings and card consumption abroad 30% more expensive. Those who are not reached can request a refund from the AFIP, although in general it is effective months later.
Currently, the PAIS tax is ranked third in the national collection ranking, with total revenues of $1.5 billion annually. Currently, 30% of the proceeds collected from the PAIS tax are used to finance social infrastructure programs in provinces and municipalities. However, now that collection will go to the Nation’s coffers.
On the other hand, Caputo also spoke about the crawling peg executed by the Central Bank (BCRA) by which the peso is devalued 2% monthly against the dollar. That pace was agreed upon with the IMF, but it emerged that the organization had asked to accelerate it to 8%. The minister did not rule it out, but he also did not give details about whether they will maintain it as before.
Likewise, the head of the Treasury pointed out that “the balance of the Central Bank must be recomposed, which is being done strongly” as a condition for dismantle the exchange rate that restricts operations with dollars. The estimate, as projected by the IMF and confirmed by Caputo, is that this will occur in the middle of this year.
“To the extent that conditions remain very favorable, it is a possibility. The condition is the cleaning up of the Central Bank’s balance sheet. The more we manage to lower inflation, the faster and stronger it will come out,” he said in an interview with the LN+ channel.
Regarding inflation, which has accumulated more than 50% since December, the minister estimated that for the second half of the year it would reach single-digit levels.
Source: Ambito
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