The Buenos Aires Legislature approved this Thursday a project of the City Executive that eliminates the tax on credit cards. This tax, promoted by the head of government, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, had been applied to compensate for the loss of income from the Co-participation in the midst of the controversy with the national government.
In a clear strategy for his campaign as a candidate for President, andLarreta himself boasted on social networks.
The Buenos Aires president announced on Tuesday – just days after running as a pre-candidate – that he had sent the project to the City Legislature. However, he had already done the same in December of last year.
The measure passed unanimously with 59 votes. in favor during the first ordinary session aimed at dealing with the project that was sent on Monday by the Executive to repeal the validity of the 1.2 percent rate of the Stamp Tax with respect to the liquidations or summaries of credit cards.
During the parliamentary debate, the blocs of the Buenos Aires opposition reiterated the questions about the rate considering that its application was not necessary by the Buenos Aires administration and put under the magnifying glass the reasons that led Larreta to promote the repeal.
When was the credit card tax created?
The “emergency” tax created in a pandemic by the administration headed by Rodríguez Larreta It was in response to the decision of the National Government to reduce the percentage of the co-participating mass that the City received and with the intention of “compensating” removes it from the funds.
During the debate, the legislator of the Frente de Todos Matías Barroetaveña pointed out that “This tax was invented by the City Government and now they want to repeal it and ask us to applaud them for it”.
“Let’s discuss how to solve the real problems of the City and end this ‘acting’ of permanent victimization from a City that It is the richest in the rest of the provinces and it wants to take resources from other places that need it much more than here”he assured.
Lucio Lapeña, from the UCR-Evolución forest, said thate “the City demonstrates today that it only takes political will and administrative responsibility to keep the word”.
“The untimely and unconsulted unilateral decision to reduce the City’s co-participation was a setback in strengthening federalism, an attack on autonomy and greatly conditioned the budget”held.
Meanwhile, the opposition legislator Cecilia Segura asked the pro-government bench why in previous sessions where an attempt was made to repeal the tax “from Together for Change they did not accompany him And yes, now that it can be used for Larreta’s presidential campaign to proclaim himself as a tax eliminator and a keeper of promises.”
Besides, From the Frente de Todos they requested, without success, that the elimination of the tax be retroactive to January 1 of this year.
