This Tuesday, a formal request from the Executive Branch was unanimously approved in the Senate to remove the value added tax (VAT) on 19 foods for six months, for a period of six months.
The products that are covered by this tax reduction request are: Flour, sugar, noodles, rice, oil, salt, polenta, tomato pulp, lentils, beans, powdered milk, eggs, cocoa, coffee, oatmeal, beef (chopped, shoulder, ossobuco, brisket), chicken, pork and bread (flute or campaign cookie).
The legislators urge to reach a price agreement with distributors and businesses to “reduce profit margins”, in order to keep the selling price to the consumer in an “acceptable” range, says the minutes of the parliamentary session.
The formal request sent to the Executive Branch from the Senate, with votes from all parties, asks the president and his administration “to seek other mechanisms that contribute to achieving the objective of avoiding price escalation in the detailed items: import release, incentives to small and medium-sized businesses that compensate for the reduction in the profit margin, preferential public rates for those SMEs that adhere, etc.”
Finally, the legislators ask “to consider the possibility of channeling this exemption through the use of electronic means of payment, in order to guarantee that the benefits effectively reach consumers.”
