Damien Kantor
10/08/2020 9:40 AM
Clarín.com
Economy
Updated 10/08/2020 9:40 AM
With limits to the
advantages
of large technology companies, including
Mercado Libre, Globant and Accenture,
the Chamber of Deputies finally approved on Thursday the so-called Knowledge Economy Law, a rule demanded by the sector, which
annually exports about US $ 6,000 million
.
Despite the changes against the largest firms, the approval of the regulation was celebrated by Marcos Galperin, head of Mercado Libre, the largest company in Argentina by market capitalization.
Deadlines
The law provides tax benefits from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2024
Beneficiaries
Companies in the software industry, audiovisual production in digital format, biotechnology, bioinformatics and genetic engineering, nanotechnology and nanoscience, aerospace and satellite industry, and engineering for the nuclear industry.
Requirements
The companies will have to prove that 70% of their turnover comes from these sectors to receive the benefits.
They must also make
continuous improvements in the quality
of their services and invest in
training
for their staff 1% in the case of microenterprises, 2% for SMEs and 5% for large ones.
Companies that invest in training unemployed persons under the age of 25 and over 45 or women entering formal employment for the first time, will be able to compute for double their value.
Another requirement that they must meet is
to export
goods from the activities promoted in a percentage of their total turnover for the last year of at least 4% micro-enterprises, 10% SMEs and 13% large.
Advantages for companies
It establishes a gradual scheme, according to the size of the firms, for discounts on income tax.
Thus, for SMEs the 60% remains, the medium ones will have 40% and the larger ones, 20%, less than what they had with the previous rule that was suspended by Alberto Fernández.
The beneficiaries of the law may convert
up to 70% of the employer contributions
that they have actually paid
into a non-transferable tax credit bond
.
These bonds may be used for a period of 24 months from their issuance for the cancellation of national taxes, such as VAT, excluding Income Tax.
This period may be extended for 12 months for justified reasons.
The tax credit bond may not be used to cancel debts prior to the effective incorporation of the beneficiary into the law.
The benefit will amount to 80% of employer contributions in the case of new labor incorporations of women, transvestites, transsexuals and transgender people, whether or not they have rectified their registration data;
professionals with postgraduate studies in engineering, exact or natural sciences;
People with disabilities;
or residents of "unfavorable areas".
The law creates the Trust Fund for the Promotion of the Knowledge Economy.
Regulation
The promotional regime would be implemented
between the end of this year and the beginning of next
, once the enforcement authority, the Ministry of Productive Development led by Matías Kulfas, regulates it.
A primary aspect of the regulation is
the creation of a "National Registry of Beneficiaries of the Scheme"
in which interested parties must register to access the benefits.
The current Knowledge Law replaces the previous Law 27,506,
surprisingly suspended
by the Government in January 20 days after its entry into force.
The brake on profits complicated the operation of an industry that has
437,000 highly qualified employees
(according to Indec data) and that groups together areas such as software, professional services, biotechnology, consulting, engineering and audiovisual content.
The distinction between small and large companies was one of the requirements established by Kirchnerism to approve the project.
There is another striking aspect: the fiscal cost of the promotion (what the State stops collecting) is not too high: they estimate that it will be around $ 18,000 million annually.
NE
Look also
Congress approved the new Law of Knowledge Economy
The Senate approved changes in the knowledge law: what things it modified and why the opposition says they are obstacles