“When the Court returns the funds to us, we lower the taxes. I committed myself”pointed out this Tuesday the head of the Buenos Aires Government, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, in a press conference from the Metropolitan Design Center.
Thus, he confirmed the sending of a bill to the Legislature to eliminate “immediately” the tax on credit cards, which has been applied since the dispute between the Nation and the City of Buenos Aires began over co-participating funds.
The presidential candidate recalled that the stamp tax was a tribute “provisional“until the Supreme Court of Justice issues, and since the highest court agreed with the Buenos Aires claim with a precautionary measure, now it fulfills its promise to eliminate it despite the fact that, according to what it said, the national government continues to not comply with the ruling of the highest court.
“The neighbors cannot wait for the times of politics and I am not going to stay still watching how a government that bankrupts the institutions takes the Argentines hostage”explained the head of government. “People are fed up with politicians who fight, attack each other and don’t keep their promises. We do not enter into that, what I propose, I fulfill it. This decision is a sample of my vision of what we need in Argentina. Here we are going to lower taxes. Let’s reduce the dead weight of the state”, added the mayor of the capital in an electoral campaign tone.
The conflict over the co-participation funds began in September 2020, when President Alberto Fernández decided to transfer a part of the Buenos Aires co-participation funds to the Province of Buenos Aires, amid a protest led by the Buenos Aires Police.
At that time, the national government defended this measure arguing that these resources available to the City had been defined by decree of necessity and urgency (DNU) by the government of Mauricio Macri, when it increased the aliquot from 1.4 to 3.75% -later it reduced it to 3.50 percent- of the co-participation regime that corresponded to the district. President Alberto Fernández ordered its reduction to 2.32%, which later, through Law 27,606, was set again at the original 1.4%.
As reported by the Buenos Aires government, from that moment in 2020 until December 31, 2022, the City of Buenos Aires stopped receiving 252,000 million pesos, which is equivalent to 12% of its total budget. Therefore, the GCBA advanced to compensate for the loss with the “stamp tax”, which is applied to the balances of the statements to the credit cards issued in the CABA.
Within this framework, Rodríguez Larreta decided to advance in the elimination of the tax burden despite the fact that the flow of funds is still not being made effective towards the City of Buenos Aires. “The neighbors cannot wait for the times of politics and I am not going to stay still watching how a government that bankrupts the institutions takes the Argentines hostage”, raised.
After the announcement, the head of the Buenos Aires government once again rejected the impeachment trial against the Supreme Court and indicated that he would continue with his judicial claim: “This does not imply giving up our fight for federalism and to recover the resources that correspond to you and to each one of those who live and visit the City. And we trust that the Court will enforce the ruling and that the funds will begin to arrive normally and in accordance with the law. There can be no discussion about it.”
Source: Infobae