The announcements were made at a press conference held on the night of Tuesday the 17th at the Executive Tower, headed by the Ministers of Economy and Finance, Azucena Arbeleche; Social Development, Martin Lema; Industry, Energy and Mining, Omar Paganini, and Labor and Social Security, Pablo Mieres. Also present were the Minister of Housing and Territorial Planning, Irene Moreira; the Minister of the Environment, Adrián Peña, and political representatives of the government coalition.
The objective of the measures presented is to confront and contain the rise in prices. Arbeleche highlighted that the economy has been in a recovery phase since last year along with the creation of jobs. The international scene due to the war between Ukraine and Russia caused the increase in food prices and Uruguay is no stranger to this situation, he said.
Measures
-Increase of 4% for Family Allowances-Equity Plan and Uruguay Social Card of MIDES. This benefit reaches 850 thousand people.
-Freezing of the price of supergas until the end of September. The 13-kilo bottle will remain at 823 pesos during the winter. In addition, the beneficiaries of the Ministry of Social Development will have a 50% discount on supergas refills, for which they will pay 411 pesos for each bottle until the end of September. This benefit reaches one million
persons.
-Additional reinforcement of the Parenting Bonus of 1,500 pesos per month for 130,000 children from zero to six years of age from June to September. This measure reaches 42% of children of that age, and is in addition to the 50 million dollars per year provided for in the Early Childhood plan approved in the last Rendering of Accounts.
– Application of focused VAT for beneficiaries of the Family Allowance-Equity Plan who choose to collect through the TuApp application. In addition, these people will be able to incorporate up to two thousand pesos per month from their own resources, which will also deduct VAT.
– Lowering and elimination of import tariffs on the products most affected by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. For wheat flour, the tariff rate, which was 12%, both for extrazone and from Argentina, is eliminated for extrazone, while, in the case that it comes from Argentina, the rate is reduced to 6%. In the case of
refined soybean and sunflower oils, the rate of 21% is eliminated for countries outside Mercosur, and, in the case of Argentina, it is reduced from 16 to 8%.
– Regulation of existing regulations so that LATU performs foreign trade controls based on risk analysis, which will allow it to streamline processes and lower costs. Along the same lines, the rate charged by LATU on food imports is reduced from 1.5% (plus VAT) to 0.5% (plus VAT) as of June 1.
– State non-reimbursable state contribution of up to a limit of $5,000 per month for each worker who is hired on a full-time basis and who has not had a formal job in the last semester. This subsidy will be paid for 4 months.
