It did not take long for reactions to emerge as a result of the statements of the Minister of Finance, Mario Marcel, who told the newspaper Third that the tax reform should be approved by the end of March 2023. And as expected, the support and criticism raised in this lively debate, especially within the Finance Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, depend on the position that everyone has within the political arc.
For example: the socialist deputy and president of the Finance Commission, Jaime Naranjo, described the term proposed by Minister Marcel as “reasonable”, but also referred to the efficiency of this redistributive instrument, which is another critical aspect in the discussion in view of the meager economic projections for 2023, which threatens to reduce tax collection.
“The term proposed by the minister seems reasonable to me. Even more: I would say that it is essential to approve this reform as soon as possible since the necessary resources are required to pay the social debt that the country has. In the Finance Commission in the Chamber of Deputies we are not going to have any problem to advance as soon as possible in this tax reform,” he said.
And he added: “Without a doubt, the great concern that many members have is that with the reduction in collection that there will be, we have certain doubts, if they will be able to implement all the measures that are intended to be done to pay that social debt. That is why is that we have proposed, as an alternative, an indication that seeks to apply a fairly low tax on financial transactions that would allow us to collect the necessary resources to pay that social debt,” said Naranjo, referring to the so-called “Robin Hood tax “.
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On the other hand, the independent deputy, Carlos Bianchi, said that the Finance Commission has proposed certain changes to the Executive to deal with the economic recession affecting the country.
“The instrument that he brought us has been improved, perfected, addressing concerns in the current economic scenario. The scenario has had extraordinary mobility, but even so, I believe that it is absolutely necessary to be able to finalize this tax reform,” Bianchi said. .
On the other hand, the deputy for National Renewal and member of the Treasury Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Miguel Mellado, believes that the term given by Minister Marcel is unfeasible due to the difficulties involved in carrying out the reform in the context current.
“We are going to be in a very strong recession in 2023, with very strong purchasing losses, with many job losses, with company bankruptcies, and the truth is that I see a tax reform in these conditions as unfeasible,” Mellado told Radio Biobio, although he praised “the minister’s commitment” to “the fiscal rule”, he stated, since, beyond being somewhat inopportune, in no case would it be a reform likely to alter the necessary macroeconomic balances.
