After the approval in the Senate of the Nation of the Law Bases and starting points for the freedom of Argentines, the president of Salta ratified his positive expectations so that, if approved in the Chamber of Deputies, the equitable regulatory framework will finally be established that Sáenz has been demanding for years for this productive sector so important for the population of the Lerma Valley.
“I’m happy, I’m happy because no one believed, no one thought it was possible to do it. In the Chamber of Deputies it was a surprise and yesterday it was also possible in the Senate for this to come out,” said the Salta president.
“I started fighting alone, with a tobacco Lord who, although I did not know him, I did know that he was harming thousands of agricultural producers in our beloved Salta and different provinces,” recalled the Salta governor.
“I was the visible face in that fight and do you want me to tell you something? It is possible, because we managed to pass this law in the Deputies, when no one believed it was possible. Last night early in the morning it was also included in the Senate. And today we did justice to all agricultural producers and all those who make a living from this regional economy,” Saénz recalled.
Among the modifications approved on Wednesday night in the National Congress, in the special section on tobacco, the increase of the Minimum Internal Tax from 70% to 73% stands out, which will directly affect the price of cigarettes. The objective is to equalize tax conditions among all companies in the sector.
It should be noted that since 2017 the tobacco industry has been experiencing a situation of inequality due to a series of protections that allowed a company (Sarandí) not to comply with the payment of the Minimum Internal Tax that feeds the Special Tobacco Fund.
What Mr. Tobacco said
The argument of the company, which recently suffered a judicial setback following a ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, is that it is a national SME that had a minority share and that paying this tax would make it disappear from the market. . Precisely, the rulings that benefited it allowed it to access almost 50% of the national market.
It should be noted that the Minimum Internal Tax is levied at a rate, which will now be 73% of the sale price and which at the same time cannot be less than a fixed amount. This, in addition to adding resources to the Special Tobacco Fund, also has the function of discouraging consumption, as required by the World Health Organization.
