07/05/2020 - 9:38
- Clarín.com
- Cities
Gastronomy is one of the economic engines of the City. It is estimated that among all the segments involved, SMEs and micro-enterprises employs more than 50,000 people. And it has been practically paralyzed for more than 100 days .
The coronavirus and quarantine pandemic hit squarely in a sector that also largely depends on tourism. And with no clear date for a partial reopening of the premises, for now the restaurants that roll down the blinds are news .
“We are definitely closed. 80 days closed was impossible to sustain. Thank you all for these years. " The parade in front of the Bad Toro bar in Plaza Serrano summarizes the suffering of most gastronomic entrepreneurs or businessmen: how to endure.
Whoever is consulted in the field agrees that the extremely high tax pressure under normal conditions became a rope that tightened more and more during quarantine. A source from the sector explained for Clarín 11 the taxes or fees that he must pay with his restaurant running at 20% with delivery and take away.
"National taxes are VAT, Earnings, Personal Property, Bank debits and credits (check tax) and provisional contributions." The Emergency Assistance Program for Work and Production (ATP) of the National Government covers only a part of the contributions, so the owner must pay the employer.
"Then there are local taxes, in this case those of the City -wide-: Gross Income, ABL, Real Estate, Occupancy rates and advertising and waste." And he adds: "The ideal would be a decrease in the VAT rate or the aliquot of Gross Income (this year a plan was applied that applied gradual decreases). But today, in the absence of activity, the most urgent thing is ABL and the Real Estate Agency ".
In this regard, the City Government sent to the Buenos Aires Legislature a project that would condone the ABL and the Real Estate to restaurants and bars in June and July. For entrepreneurs it is insufficient and they request that the collection be suspended for one year and Gross Income for six months.
Going back to taxes and according to the report that is made annually by the Argentine Institute of Fiscal Analysis (IARAF), taxes can take up to 40% of a restaurant's turnover .
"In the case of restaurants -considering a large size-, it is observed that approximately 39.8% of the price paid by the consumer, originates from national, provincial and municipal taxes. This percentage is slightly higher than that obtained for the hotel sector due to the greater impact that the personal component has on the cost structure, ”the report highlights.
And it highlights one more cost that restaurants face: “The incidence of the tax pressure that the tax and social security system exerts on the inputs they use such as public services, advertising, food and beverages, among others. In these cases, the tax burden will surely be even higher points ”.
