How does the Income Tax affect the salary in Neuquén?

Salaries stopped paying Income Tax at the end of Alberto Fernández’s government, which ended on December 10, 2023. It was a provision that was part of the package of proselytizing measures taken by former Economy Minister Sergio Massa as a candidate for the Presidency.

By then, some additional amounts paid to workers had been excluded from the calculation of the non-taxable minimum for Income Tax, as well as the differential by zone that integrates the income of various activities in Patagonia. In the new version of the tax, these amounts are taxed, which means that The number of employees affected by the tax is expanding.

Based on his interpretation of the provisions of the approved text, union member Sergio Palazzo, a UP deputy, considered that salaries of less than 1.8 million pesos will be affected by the Income Tax.

Update of the non-taxable minimum

The text approved by the House of Representatives establishes that the non-taxable minimum will be updated every three months during 2024 and every six months in 2025, in line with variations in the Consumer Price Index.

The reimposition of the fourth category Income Tax is contrary to all the pre- and post-election statements of President Javier Milei regarding the tax system of which he declares himself a militant. However, it was introduced by the government in the negotiation of votes for the approval of the Bases Law and the fiscal package with the governors, most of whom were enthusiastic about the funds they would receive for the co-participation of the collection of Profits.

This was not the case for the leaders of Patagonia.for whom the measure had more costs than benefits, since in their provinces The tax reaches a higher percentage of employees than in others, while the portion of The collection they will receive has little impact on their income totals.

Governor Rolando Figueroa spoke out against the tax on entry salaries. Neuquén accounts for 1.7% of the total that is collected in the country by Profits, which represents about 1.1 percent of the own collection (Gross Income, Stamps and Real Estate) plus the co-participation, which explains just under 70 percent of the provincial income, which is completed with hydrocarbon royalties.

The legislative sanction of the Income Tax on salaries became involved in a controversy with possible judicial derivations. The measure obtained half a sanction from Deputies, but was then rejected in the Senate before it was finally consolidated again in the Lower House with 136 affirmative votes, 116 negative and 3 abstentions.

During the legislative debate, it was made clear that there will be individual presentations by workers against the legality of the sanction, while some unions warned that they would appeal to the courts against the income tax imposed on their representatives, including oil workers, truck drivers, bankers and oil workers.