The Chamber of Senators unanimously approved this Tuesday the bill by which the minimum VAT (10%) is exempted for a period of 30 days to “the alienation of common white bread, campaign cookies, pasta and noodles”, which they are currently taxed at the minimum rate of 10%.
The vote ended with 27 affirmative votes in 27 present.
In addition, he also had in the folder “as serious and urgent” the bill on the Pili company, from Paysandú, to extend unemployment insurance to its workers for 180 days.
11:29 For Olesker, the project “freezes” the problem, but does not solve it
Daniel Olesker, from the Broad Front, showed a position similar to the one he exhibited on March 22 when the Senate discussed the exemption from VAT on barbecue, also for a month. The legislator questioned the moment in which the government promoted the decision by pointing out that “the skyrocketing” of prices had already happened and that “in the best of cases” the initiative “will freeze a situation that is absolutely unequal” between the income that workers receive and the increases that some products have suffered.
Olesker pointed out that the increases began to occur before the war between Russia and Ukraine and cited several examples: “Between September and December, the products that we are voting today for their exemption increased by 12%. Between December and February (they increased) by 31% The war started on February 24. It is likely that in March this will have an even greater impact, but these products have already been growing.”
“There was a very wrong time. There were times when it was already possible to accelerate the measures to contain prices to avoid this gap between wages and prices,” he added.
And he went on to say: “Given the spread and soaring inflation, the best measure is to transfer salary and retirement increases in the month of June and not wait until January 2023. (…) Without a recovery of income before January 2023 the situation is going to be very serious for households in general.
The senator closed his statement supporting the measure, although he warned that it will not solve the “seriousness of the problem.” “Nothing is solved here,” he warned.
“I don’t know what geopolitical analysis can think that the effect of the war conflict is going to end in a month. That thought is kind of weird,” he added.
11:25 Botana points out that the measure is “absolutely reasonable”
The nationalist senator Sergio Botana assured that the main increases in the price of bread and noodles occurred in March, so they have not yet been reflected in the Consumer Price Index (CPI). “This measure is absolutely reasonable, which has an estimated fiscal impact of around US$1 million per month and which is carried out for a short period in the hope that the international conflict will end quickly and that the rises in interest rates at the international level,” he added.
