Less than 24 hours following Juan Manzur has given his management report, the Chamber of Deputies reopened the doors to lead a marathon session that intended to approve, until the wee hours of the morning, several key economic projects for the ruling party, as well as the Nursing Law. At the close of this edition, The Front of All had managed to convert the Fiscal Consensus into law thanks to the support of the provincial blocs and the deputies who answer to radical governors (who differed from the rest of Together for Change, which ended up voting once morest). At night, meanwhile, the negotiations continued to approve the extension of several national taxes that are essential for the collection of the State and that the ruling party hoped to achieve a half sanction with the accompaniment of the middle blocks.
The session began, with just enough numbers for the quorum, at 1:00 p.m. Due to the last-minute decision to include the extension of taxes on the agenda — the result of the negotiations that had taken place the previous day, during the presentation from Manzur– JxC refused to go down to the compound at the beginning of the session. Neither did the left and the libertarians decide to give a quorum, leading to the ruling party having to perspire until the last moment to see if the session fell through or not. It was thanks to the accompaniment of the Federal Interbloc (IB) and the United Provinces that the FdT managed to reach 129 deputies: the same number that, at the close of this edition, the ruling party was enthusiastic regarding being able to repeat to approve the extension of national taxes.
Prior to the beginning of the debate, however, a surprising episode took place during the regulations, when the socialist Enrique Estévez asked to summon several commissions to deal with the Wetlands Law (long locked in the lower house) and achieved the accompaniment of almost all the blocks. Almost automatically, the president of the Natural Resources Commission, Leo Grosso, assured that the ruling party was willing “to give the debate” and it was defined that next Thursday the project would begin to be treated. The gesture of the FdT -which had already been anticipated by the head of the ruling bloc, Germán Martínez, the night before- had not been by chance, but rather responded to the approaches that it had been testing with the aim of obtaining the number to approve tax extension.
The six national taxes that the FdT sought to extend -Personal Assets, Earnings, the Check, the Simplified Regime of the Monotax, the Capital of Cooperatives and the Cigarette- represent almost a third of the State’s collection, so much of the attention of the ruling party was focused on getting its approval. JxC was opposed to the FdT project and had decided to stand behind its minority opinion –which supported the extension but incorporated modifications, such as the reduction in the rates of Personal Assets–, although some doubts persisted as to whether a sector of radicalism would not abstain on any of the items. The numbers, indeed, were fair, but the FdT was confident that it would have the support of the eight deputies of the IB. The intervention of Sergio Massa and Eduardo “Wado” De Pedro had been key the night before, who unblocked the negotiation by talking with Governor Juan Schiaretti (to whom three Cordovan deputies who make up the IB respond).
“They are going to be 129-130 fair. It will not be left over, but it will come out,” assured deputies of the FdT while the speeches of the Fiscal Consensus were chained and the ruling bloc, in parallel, negotiated the modifications that would be incorporated into the tax project. As this newspaper learned, the objective was to unfold the two articles – one, referring to the extension of taxes, the other, which supported the specific assignments of the same -, responding to a demand that had arisen from the opposition.
Tax Consensus
Prior to the debate on the extension of taxes, the Chamber approved the Fiscal Consensus with 136 votes in favor, 108 once morest and 4 abstentions. “In no way is the objective of this Consensus to raise taxes“, began by exposing Carlos Heller, anticipating JxC’s arguments that would reject the project on the basis that the fiscal pact signed with 21 provinces enabled an increase in the maximum rates of taxes on Gross Income and Stamps. “Rather, what it seeks is to implement instruments that ensure that the distribution of the tax burden, for which it is expected that it will have a greater impact on property taxes, historically weak in many provinces, and thus be able to compensate for the eventual reduction in tax collection. of taxes on productive activities and consumption“, he added.
“This Fiscal Consensus repeats the principle of saving politics by sacrificing taxpayers. And they did not vote for us to defend the governors of our provinces, but the citizens of those provinces,” questioned, meanwhile, Luciano Laspina (PRO ), with a harsh message that might have been directed both towards the FdT and towards the radicals who voted in favor of the project. That was the case of Jujeños and Corrientes, whose governors had originally signed the pact with Alberto Fernández: “This consensus does not oblige to increase taxes nor does it prohibit their reduction. The defense that we make from the interior to the recognition of provincial autonomies is essential,” said Jorge “Colo” Rizzoti, who responds to Gerardo Morales and ended up voting in favor.
“If Gross Income seems so inefficient to some, let your party know, like Horacio Rodríguez Larreta in Capital, to repeal it. Notify the government of Corrientes, of Jujuy, to repeal all extortive taxes today and to free the citizens. Because if not when they govern they have an attitude but when they sit on the benches they have another, “accused, on the other hand, the official Marcelo Casaretto.
The left and libertarians, meanwhile, also voted once morest the fiscal pact.. “It is another of the projects demanded by the IMF”, began to denounce Romina Del Plá when she was interrupted by the shouts of Javier Milei, who had taken the floor just before to question the Fiscal Consensus pointing- once more- once morest the political class . “What are you doing here if you’re not a politician?” the missionary “Cacho” Bárbaro reproached him angrily. “I’m here to fight once morest the status quo,” Milei replied, outraged, once once more leaving the venue in the face of criticism from the FdT.