Martín Bidegaray
06/18/2020 - 17:57
- Clarín.com
- Economy
- Economy
The government is working on a new moratorium on tax debts and social security . Unlike the current moratorium, which mostly reaches SMEs, the idea is that it be larger and cover all natural and legal persons .
The Executive Branch is preparing a bill that will turn to Congress. In principle, it would be a moratorium on unpaid obligations until May 30. In the draft that the Government manages, it is established that taxpayers will be able to register between July and August. They will just start making payments in November.
The claim for a debt refinancing comes from both SMEs and business chambers, such as UIA and CGERA. The economic cabinet took note of this request, and that is why it is outlining the characteristics of this moratorium.
President Alberto Fernández spoke of a moratorium over the weekend. Officials who went about the task believe it will be very "broad . " "It will cover everyone, without distinction : large companies, individuals, SMEs. It will be a very important effort ”, highlight official sources. All kinds of taxes, whether from collection or social security, would be going into refinancing.
Any taxpayer, beyond their category, could access this moratorium. The idea of the economic cabinet is to collaborate with companies at a time when many face problems, stemming from the almost total economic paralysis forced by quarantine, liquidity and difficulties in sustaining their workforce.
The current moratorium in force is for debts contracted until November 30, 2019. And the registration period expires at the end of the month. To adhere to this refinancing, you must obtain the certificate that validates the activity as an SME. The next moratorium will be more extensive, for all taxpayers and will also take on the debts accumulated in the last 6 months. Half of March, April and May were hit by the effects of the pandemic.
The exact amount of debt that could enter the moratorium is not yet available in the government. For the current refinancing, they estimate that there were nearly $ 400 billion in taxes that were unpaid. Of that total, about 25% (about $ 100 billion) adhered to the payment plans. That implies that there are still $ 300 billion more, at least. To this we must add debts from large companies or taxpayers who do not qualify as SMEs.
For the current moratorium, the interest rate is 3% fixed during the first year and variable in the following periods . Available plans are from one to 10 years. The Government is studying whether the future mechanism will be similar. There are also taxpayers who agreed to the previous moratorium and were unable to comply with it, because they depended on the income they expected to generate during these months and were affected by the pandemic.
The criterion that is sought is that of debt consolidation. That the unpaid obligations until November 2019 and those generated from that month until May 2020 are reached for the same umbrella, under a unified facilities plan, according to official sources.
When AFIP cannot collect debts, it usually initiates litigation. But in the agency they prefer that the taxpayers settle without reaching that instance.
The government is also considering a more encouraging tax reform. It would be in the plans for 2021, after the pandemic. There are already different recommendations in this regard, from the Professional Council of Economic Sciences to the OECD.