Although there is no deadline, it was expected that they were accepted for April 1, for the full application of the regime throughout the country. However, the two lines of incidence of provincial and municipal taxes are now empty because no province came to adhere.
The “fiscal transparency regime to the consumer” governs from January 1 for large companies (VAT, internal taxes and fuels in tickets) and since April 1 for other businesses (only VAT). The law invites the provinces to adhere to also visible gross income and municipal rates.
Although there is no deadline, it was expected that they were accepted for April 1, for the full application of the regime throughout the country. However, the two lines of incidence of provincial and municipal taxes are now empty because no province came to adhere.
In January from logic, as drivers of this regime, we send letters to the 24 governors remembering the term of April 1 and with two questions. CABA, Chubut, Entre Ríos, Mendoza and Misiones answered that they will adhere to the regime and that they will not apply sanctions to which local taxes voluntarily report as long as they have not adhered. In March we send a second letter to the other 19 provinces, informing them that we are still waiting and that we will disseminate both the provinces that adhere and those that do not.
Catamarca responded similar to the previous five. The adhesion of Chubut and Entre Ríos would be imminent, via provincial laws. In six other provinces, nine adhesion bill were presented, all for the provincial opposition. Except for those cases, a general reluctance of the different provincial officials to adhere is warned. The following are the reasons and excuses invoked in several provinces so as not to accept this invitation.
- “There was no time to adhere”. Fake. The first Provincial Transparency Law was presented in January 2024 (Río Negro, Martina Lacour), almost in parallel to the shipment to the Congress of the Law of Fiscal Measures that sanctioned the regime in June 2024. Most of the other projects were also presented last year. None was treated. There were more than nine months to adhere, being able to do it overnight, by decree, because taxes are not modified.
- “We do not have to inform taxes that the consumer does not pay but the seller and other links in the chain ”. Precisely the regime-as in the antecedent of Brazil-appointment to run the veil of the taxes supported by the consumer that have been hidden throughout the production chain. And the two most hidden taxes are gross income and municipal fees. Therefore the law invites them to reflect the information on the ticket so that “Final consumers are aware of the incidence” of gross income and municipal fees “in the formation of the prices of the goods ”, no matter who applies.
- “It is complex and has time to make that calculation of incidence in the production chain.” First, how are gross and rates apply without having a previous study of how much they affect the consumer? Second, similar to the nation, it could be applied in stages: at the beginning, making visible gross income and rates applied in the last link (seller) and faced by the consumer, very simple. And, when an official calculation agent is designated (as in Brazil), the incidence in the total chain will be included. There is no such complexity because it is estimated approximately for a standard purchase, not for each customer. The objective is not that a tax credit is carried out but its awareness. Finally, the province can now adhere by law or decree of two articles and leave for the regulations the way to calculate it.
- “We are consulting the municipalities, which we are going to invite.” It does not correspond. First, the law invites only the provinces. Second, the municipal collection is not at stake here, it is only information. Third, this regime cannot become an unmanageable mosaic for merchants, under the thumb up or down of 1300 intendants in the country. Fourth, for the consumer, the information must flow as simple and homogeneous as possible throughout the country.
- “Being an invitation, we have the freedom to accept or reject it.” There is no such freedom in this case. This is not like the invitation of the rigi or bleaching, where the provinces could sacrifice collection, so they have the power to reject it. In the case of the ticket, there is no collection in between, it is only a matter of information and transparency. From logic we maintain that the provinces are obliged to adhere to two mandates of article 42 of the Constitution in favor of the consumer, the right to “adequate and truthful information” and the “education for consumption”. It is an invitation-exhortation.
- “We have no good relationship with the national government.” It is irrelevant. This regime originated in a request for logic at Change.org and is backed by surveys (poliarchy) from which it arises that 94% agree that taxes are informed to them, of which 92% consider that it is very or quite important information. It is the only chapter of the Base Law and the Law on Fiscal Measures that originated outside the ruling party. Therefore, the refusal to adhere not only implies a rejection of the invitation of the nation but, especially, to citizens, represented through logic and in those surveys, which wishes and has the right to see this information in purchase tickets.
- “It does not suit us because if the citizens become fiscal awareness, we will not be able to raise taxes and public spending more, but will demand that we lower them.” But it is the one that we glimpse as the “reason” of greater weight than those that reject adhere, but that no politician can say out loud. The main cause for Argentina has come to have the highest taxes in the world, a reflection of the total lack of control of public spending, is due to the lack of fiscal culture of the company, generated by a regime that systematically concealed taxes to the citizen, disconnecting it from any fiscal issue. This concealment was made with unacceptable prohibitions (VAT) and disguising taxes throughout the productive chain (gross income, rates, etc). When citizens take fiscal awareness, the chances of deep and durable reforms will grow, beyond the ruling political sign. AND Never again the fiscal will be a preserve of politicians but will become a mainly citizen caseas happened with the awareness that resulted in the more than 40 years of consolidation of democracy. From civil society we must demand this adhesion of the provinces to the regime and make it weigh in this election year.
President of Logic, NGO dedicated to generating fiscal awareness
Source: Ambito
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