Income Tax: weekend debate in Deputies, with tweaks until the last minute

Jasmine Bullorini

03/26/2021 8:31 PM

• Clarín.com

• Politics

Updated 03/26/2021 8:31 PM

Unexpectedly on a Saturday, and with tweaks until the last minute, Deputies will debate in a marathon session the changes to the Income Tax.

Despite the escalation of tension between the banks, the project has broad consensus and they are betting that it will generally be approved unanimously.

The initiative presented by the president of the Chamber, Sergio Massa, raises the income tax floor to $ 150,000 for salaried employees and from 6 to 8 minimum salaries for retirees.

The benefit would reach 1,200,000 people and the fiscal cost, according to the Congressional Budget Office, is estimated at $ 47,569 million, not including the latest modifications.

The Minister of Economy, Martín Guzmán, is following the negotiation of the final touches to the Profits project.

Changes will remain open until voting.

"The last additions are going to be made on the premises," they confirmed near Sergio Massa, who on Friday polished the touches inside his block and with the endorsement of the Minister of Economy, Martín Guzmán, who had just arrived from his visit to New York.

The original project has already undergone several modifications.

Among the latter, and at the request of the unions, the tax was exempted for the reimbursement of daycare expenses and the exemption for overtime for health personnel was extended due to the pandemic.

Now it was being considered to also extend this benefit to the Armed Forces.

At the same time,

that the update of the floor to be taxed be done semi-annually, instead of annually

as established in the original text, is another of the points under consideration.

Guzmán is expected to be part of the delegation of officials that will be present at the venue at the start of the session.

In addition, a delegation from the CGT, the CTA and the Federal Current will go to Congress.

That there is an agreement does not cut the debate times

.

Only from the Frente de Todos there are 90 speakers scheduled for this topic, to which the other blocks will join.

Not only will Profits be discussed, but also the Environmental Education law and a project on Doping Control in Sport.

The changes in Monotax were postponed to the next session.

Likewise, the estimates

point to the session ending early on Sunday morning.

The opposition, for its part, will make the requests that were not incorporated into the norm heard.

Together for the Change requested that the self-employed be considered;

that the update be made by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) instead of the Average Taxable Remuneration of Stable Workers (RIPTE);

and that retirees be exempted.

Therefore, they will accompany in general, but will vote against articles in particular.

"

We support any initiative that lowers the tax burden. This government raised 14 taxes in the last year

. It continues to drown with taxes on the private sector,"

PRO deputy Luciano Laspina

assured

Clarín

.

Lavagnism will also support but with criticism.

"We deeply regret that the ruling party has ignored our proposals to increase family allowances for many more who are in worse conditions because their income does not even reach the non-taxable minimum of the tax," Jorge Sarghini told

Clarín.

Even the Left, which has its own project to directly eliminate the Tax for all workers under contract and for retirees, will give its endorsement.

"The salary is not profit. With the official project, more than 700 thousand workers will continue to pay this tax. But in case our proposal is not considered, we will accompany in general since it will mean a relief for many workers," said Nicolás del Caño to

Clarín.

The session comes in a climate of high tension between the ruling party and the opposition benches.

In fact,

that the doors of Congress are opened on the weekend - a situation that in history was only given for emergencies - is the result of a string of political shorts.

The original idea was to debate Earnings on Thursday, but for that day the opposition of Together for Change and the Federal Interblock had requested the special session for Biofuels, an issue that ignited the fight.

The Frente de Todos did not want to "enclose" the discussion of the Profit project -

its workhorse in the run-up to the electoral contest -

and ruled out that same day.

On Friday they did not give the times to do the PCR tests and delaying it until next week was not an option.

Massa and Máximo Kirchner surprised by deciding to open the venue on a Saturday;

a very unusual decision.

The decision that was criticized, among others, by the legislator of the PRO, Waldo Wolff who considered a lack of respect that the celebration of the Jewish Passover is not taken into consideration.

Beyond any legislative assembly on March 1 that has fallen on Saturday in history, the last time the body met on a Saturday was in 2012, for a special tribute for March 24.

But to vote on a project it is necessary to go back further in time.

In 2008, in the midst of the crisis over the countryside

, Deputies approved the controversial Resolution 125 on withholdings. The debate had started on Friday and ended on Saturday afternoon. The same happened

in 2002, when the convertibility law was repealed on a Saturday.

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