Opposition pressure for the update of Profits, tax expenses and tobacco tax

This Thursday, in the debate on the draft Law on Palliative and Relevant Fiscal Measures sent to Congress on Wednesday afternoon by the ruling party, the opposition blocs pressured the Government to make changes linked to the update of the Income Tax.

Furthermore, they emphasized cutting tax expenditures, such as the elimination of the exemption of judges from paying Profits; along with the modification of internal taxes such as tobacco and questions about los tax benefits that apply in Tierra del Fuego.

He tax package contemplate eight sessions with changes in Profits, Monotribute, Personal property y money laundering, among other reforms. The proposal seeks to be a complement to the Base Law and will be debated simultaneously. Thus, the ruling party hopes to have both initiatives approved in the first days of May to submit them to the Senate and have them sanctioned before the 25th, the date on which it aspires to sign the May Pact with the provinces.

The Government is confident that inflation will slow down in the coming weeks and, in that direction, confirmed that The update of the Income Tax will be annual. In the meeting called by the president of the commission, the deputy José Luis Espert (Freedom Advances) -and in which the Secretary of the Treasury, Carlos Guberman; and the director of Tax Analysis and Statistics, José Antonio Salim-, the Government answered the questions of the legislators and highlighted that the tax It will be adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Thus, despite the request of some legislators – such as the national representative for Santa Fe y PRO member, Germana Figueroa Casas- that there is one quarterly update, the ruling party maintains the original idea. “We started with a high floor to avoid the natural delay that the discussion of the project may have. That it is quarterly makes the tax treatment more complex,” said Guberman.

However, he did not rule out the possibility that, just for this year, there will be a change on this point. “We contemplate the possibility that, if inflation were to get out of control, a adjustment before the end of the year although we are convinced that the process of slowing price riseso no further updates would be necessary,” he stated.

Among the most salient points of the project, it stands out the reversal of the fourth category of the tax. After negotiations with the governors and the dialogue opposition blocs, it was established a non-taxable minimum of $1,800,000 gross for singles and $ 2.200.000 for married people with children. In addition, the tribute will be called Personal Income Tax and will be updated from 2025.

Another request to the Government was led by the national deputy Nicolas Massot by We make Federal Coalition. He requested an estimate from the Ministry of Economy on the tax expenses. “I understand the origin and existence of the more than 30 special regimes. What I do not share is the Government’s position regarding the requests from the different blocs to open the discussion on the issue,” he said.

Massot also joined Figueroa Casas’ request on Profits: “Making it annual is a trap, it happened in other governments. I wonder if the legislative route is appropriate to define update mechanisms like UVA”, he noted.

He also demanded a clear position from the Government on the elimination of the tobacco tax, which was originally included in the draft Base Law: “Your position needs to be forceful and not use the absence of the chapter as an excuse. Or are you doing it to maintain the status quo?”

Those who also asked about the internal tax on tobacco and tax expenses were Juan Manuel Lopezdeputy of We make Federal Coalition. While, Lisandro Nieriblock UCRjoined the request for an explanation for the tobacco tax and criticized the withdrawal of the tax chapter of the Omnibus Law: “We cannot wait for a tax reform. The economic and financial emergency, which demands a fiscal order, presents an opportunity to move forward before Budget 2025.” He also referred to the annual update of Profits: “The quarterly update It was a better alternative.

Other speakers of the day were Myriam Bregman national representative of Left Front; Sergio Palazzo deputy of Union for the Homeland for Buenos Aires; Carlos Daniel Castagneto, national deputy of Unión por la Patria and former head of the AFIP; Romina Del Pla national representative of Victory Front; Julia Strada national representative for Union for the Homeland; German Martinez holder of the block Union for the Homeland by Santa Fe; Silvana Giudici national representative of PRO by Buenos aires city; y Pedro Jorge Galimberti, national deputy of the UCR by Between rivers among others.

“We want to generate a different tax culture, in which we all have the same obligations and the same rights in fiscal terms. The reforms promoted go in that direction. The idea is that we no longer take tax spending as a way to hide who is receiving a benefit with State resources, and that it be made explicit in the budget. how much and to whom the money is given”Guberman closed.

There will also be modifications to the Personal Property Tax: a payment facility to anticipate payments for future years and a reduction in rates thereafter. The new floor of the tribute will be $100 million and the deduction for the family home will go to $350 million.

As for the money laundering Asset Regularization Regime will enable laundering of up to US$ 100,000 without penalty, with a deadline until April 30, 2025 (extendable until July 31 of next year). On this point, and in reference to the request for the blocks, the Government said that it is difficult to estimate a collection expectation for laundering.

Meanwhile, the Simplified Regime for Small Taxpayers (Monotax) updates the billing and quota ceilings, with increases of between 300% y 330%. Entry annual cap would be $68 million, with the news that it will be for commercial and service activities alike.