The company Catedral Alta Patagonia accumulated unpaid installments of the Inspection, Safety and Hygiene fee for at least 32 monthly maturities between 2018 and 2023 and the municipality imposed a fine of 16.3 million pesoswhich was applied during the previous government of Gustavo Gennuso and now ratified by Mayor Walter Cortés, following an appeal from the company.
Resolution 777/24, issued last Tuesday by Mayor Walter Cortés, indicates that the concessionaire of the Cerro Catedral was summed up “for failure to pay the TISH on time” corresponding to three of the twelve monthly maturities of 2018, eight of 2019, four of 2020, two of 2021, nine TISH installments of 2022 and the first six of 2023.
In its defense, Capsa alleged the “prescription” of these tax charges, but the municipality rejected the proposal and imposed “a fine for fraud of 16,310,244 pesos.”
The company belonging to the Vía Bariloche group has other setbacks in its relationship with the municipal administration. Only So far this month, three other appeals for reconsideration have been rejected related with contractual breaches and with the intention of limiting the ascents of users of the “resident” ski pass to a limited schedule, in the use of the main means of lift.
In this last dispute, Cortés also endorsed what was decided by the previous administration and ordered that residents can upgrade from 9 a.m., even for the required six-fold express chair, which the company wanted to reserve for tourists. In the previous provision, Bariloche residents only had access released at 11.
In other actions by Eamcec, which last year sanctioned Capsa for the potholes in the parking lot and for the poor condition or closure of public bathrooms, the company also failed in its attempts to review, which were dismissed by Cortés.
The legal discussion
In the case of the TISH rate, Capsa alleged that it is a time-barred obligation, because more than two years have passed. And he cited a Supreme Court ruling. But Cortés, with an opinion from his legal counsel, responded with several paragraphs of the minority vote of Judge Horacio Rosatti for the same ruling, according to which “federalism” should prevail in tax matters, with broad powers of the provinces and municipalities to legislate on non-compliance and sanctions.
For local taxpayers, debts for fees expire only after 5 years and that is why the municipality decided to sue and sanction Capsa for the non-compliance accumulated since 2018.
Rosatti observed (and the municipality took it as its own letter) that “if local jurisdictions retain a police and taxation power that is their own, and in broader terms a local public right, their competence to establish a criminal sanctioning regime is unquestionable.” ”.
Cortés’ resolution underlined that “the action for the judicial collection of liens and their accessories and fines for infractions provided for in the tax ordinance prescribe after five years,” instead of the two years provided for in the criminal area.
He also pointed out that The municipal inspection “has identified and demonstrated fraudulent actions” by Capsa not only due to omissions in the payment of the fee, but after the summons he incurred “the presentation of a sworn declaration with income lower than that actually received. In addition to having stated that some of the accounts had no activity, such as Club Kids, the falsity of the information provided had been corroborated.”
Other violations
Previously, resolution 704/24 rejected another request for review by the hill concessionaire for a sanction originating from the state of public bathrooms at the base of the hill. Capsa used “formal defects” in the preparation of the minutesalso challenged the fine for “lack of justification and arbitrariness” and said that the bathrooms at the Amancay shopping center were closed due to lack of water, which is a responsibility of the Cathedral neighborhood association.
None of this managed to reverse the administrative decision imposed by the previous administration.
In resolution 641/24, another similar proposal was rejected due to a fine of 29 million pesos (for three repeat offenses) related to the defective maintenance of the parking lot of the winter complex. The details of the actions reveal, for example, that in response to the summons, Capsa covered the potholes “with sand and stone.”
