The President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, celebrated this Thursday before the General Assembly the economic growth that the South American country is experiencing and announced a tax cut that will benefit a wide range of workers and retirees in the country.
For the third consecutive year -despite not being an obligation for the leaders- the head of state went to the Legislative Palace to give an account of the work of his Executive, in an act in which he was accompanied by all his ministers.
And, among other issues, he insisted that
he wants to reach trade agreements with other countries
, a desire that has become an emblem of his management.
Lacalle Pou also highlighted the
record in terms of exports
, the creation of new jobs, the educational transformation and the social security reform.
Supporters of the president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, follow the balance of the president before the General Assembly.
Photo: EFE
On the other hand, and at the end of a speech that lasted about an hour, Lacalle Pou announced the
new measures taken on the payment of taxes
by workers and retirees, as well as companies.
"
We are in a position to proceed with a tax cut
. Tax cuts, especially for those people who make great efforts to sustain themselves financially and who generally do not have full support from the State because they are not in a vulnerable situation," he pointed out.
In accordance with this, it indicated that the deductions of those who pay Personal Income Tax (IRPF) and have dependent children will be increased, as well as those who rent or acquire homes through a mortgage loan.
"These changes
will benefit 75% of taxpayers
, while 14% -close to 63,000 Uruguayans, those with lower incomes- will stop paying personal income tax," said the president.
He also announced that he will fulfill his election campaign commitment and begin to "reverse" the tax on high retirements, the highest retirement tax (IASS), for which the taxable amount will be raised.
"About 20,000 people also stop paying this tribute," she stressed.
After these announcements, Lacalle Pou pointed out that the tax waiver between individuals and companies means 150 million dollars and he was convinced that these benefits will generate "
greater consumption" and "greater economic dynamism
".
help to the field
Before, among other topics, the president spoke about the country's economy and said that it
had a growth of more than 5%
, while stressing that 40,000 new jobs were created in the last year.
In terms of exports, he celebrated that 2022 was a record year, with foreign sales exceeding 13.5 billion dollars, most of these linked to the agro-industrial sector.
And he stressed the crucial importance of the field.
The President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, arrives at the Legislative Palace to take stock before the General Assembly.
Photo: EFE
"There is no longer anyone else in the country who doubts that if agriculture is doing well, the country is doing well," he reflected and promised to "give support
to rural families" in the face of the drought
that is affecting the country, the worst in several decades.
A couple of weeks ago, Lacalle had launched a battery of measures so that rural producers can face the drought, which affects Uruguay as well as Argentina and a large part of the region.
The first of these measures is the authorization so that grazing can be done on national routes, provided there is a permit issued by the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP).
In addition, producers will be able to access loans with low interest rates, while there will be a reduction in the cost of electricity and some contributions that they had to make for their work will be extended.
Open up to the world
As he did on various occasions, the president reiterated Uruguay's willingness to open up to the world and sign trade agreements that facilitate the exchange of goods and services.
He added, in turn, that if agreements are reached, he will invite his Mercosur partners -Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay- to move forward together.
He also announced the
creation of an open laboratory with the Microsoft company
that will be installed in Montevideo and will be the third to be outside the United States.
In other matters, Lacalle Pou also took the opportunity to defend the
educational transformation
and said that "a new way of teaching that has to be appropriate to the times" has been developed.
At the same time, he spoke about the social security reform that is being worked on and explained that it is necessary, progressive, inclusive, fair and supportive.
Finally, he highlighted some numbers related to citizen security, and said that although the records "have improved significantly," there is still "much to be done."
In addition, he celebrated the increase in adoptions and highlighted achievements in health such as free access to breast implants and studies of mastectomized women.
After the speech and after announcing to the legislators that next year he will speak before the General Assembly again -as he had already done in 2021 and 2022- the president left the Legislative Palace.
Source: EFE and
Clarín newsroom
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