Juan Manuel Barca
05/23/2021 5:22 PM
Clarín.com
Economy
Updated 05/23/2021 5:22 PM
In view of the acceleration of inflation and its impact on poverty, the Government is analyzing the
elimination of VAT
on purchases of
meat, dairy products, fruits and vegetables
with the Alimentar Card.
The Minister of Social Development, Daniel Arroyo, slipped that possibility this Sunday when reviewing recent announcements aimed at strengthening assistance, such as the increase in Repro and the expansion of the subsidy for the purchase of food.
"In the case of the
Alimentar Card
, we are aiming to eliminate VAT and encourage good nutrition," he told Radio Rivadavia.
It is a measure that officials have been studying since the beginning of the year, but which has now gained new momentum within the framework of the closure of activities for nine days.
Although there are still no details on how it will be implemented, the eventual changes would
impact 2.5 million families
and 4 million children.
That is the universe of beneficiaries of the card since the Government last Friday made the extension of the subsidy to children up to 14 years old and the increase in the amounts.
The elimination of VAT represents a challenge for Alberto Fernández.
In the first place, because
in January 2020 his administration decided not to renew the exemption of this tax for 13 products
of the basic basket set up by Mauricio Macri in August 2019 in the middle of the electoral campaign.
The objective then was to cushion the impact of the devaluation, but inflation closed that year at 54%.
The initiative under study, on the other hand,
still does not have the approval of other
key
areas
, among them the AFIP and the Productive Development ministries, led by Matías Kulfas, and Economy, the Martín Guzmán portfolio.
"It has been analyzed for a long time and no solution is found, it may be necessary, but
the fiscal issue is
also
being handled
," official sources said.
Although some economists estimate that soybean revenues and lower spending growth leave a fiscal margin for public accounts, the pressures on the deficit will be greater in the second half due to the end of the "tail wind" driven by the boom. of commodities and the impact of restrictions.
The Alimentar Card, per case, represented last year an item of more than $ 95,000 million.
In 2021, the fiscal cost will be $ 216 billion.
Of this total, $ 130 million will be allocated to purchases of fresh food, so the removal of VAT on the latter would imply
an extra effort of $ 21,000 million
annually.
The government recognizes that
the rise in food prices is worrying
.
In the last 12 months, the basic basket increased between 49% and 51% in April.
In this scenario, the amount of the card for those who receive the AUH rose to $ 6,000 for mothers with one child, $ 9,000 for mothers with two children, and $ 12,000 for three or more children.
The extension of the benefit aims to contain the increase in child poverty, which in the suburbs already reaches 72%.
The authorities see an
increase in demand in dining rooms
.
In April 2020, attendance grew from 8 to 11 million people, but after Phase 1 it dropped to only 10 million.
"There are people from the lower middle class who had a job and began to go to the dining rooms to look for food. Those people did not recover," they admit in Social Development.
DS
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