Franco Mignacco, president of the Chamber of Mining Entrepreneurs (CAEM) at lunch for Mining Day.
Mining is one of the activities that the Government chooses to achieve – through its export – the long -awaited foreign exchange earnings to sustain economic growth. Especially this year where the sector’s exports are estimated they will grow by around 25% to approximately US $ 4,000 million, thanks to rising international prices.
From this scenario, the companies operating major mining projects in the country are listed, in front of Matias Kulfas, the Minister of Productive Development, on which the activity depends, some measures they seek to improve the business.
“In the mining industry, due to the large volumes of its investment with a long recovery period, it is necessary to guarantee a context of clear rules. It basically means respect for Mining Investment Law and guarantee of financial stability. We keep arguing that it should check withholdings with the possibility of reaching its elimination, to put us on a par with other mining countries in which we compete, without this kind of charges, ”said the president of the Chamber of Mining Entrepreneurs (CAEM), Franco Mignacco.It was at a lunch held yesterday in Parque Norte, for Mining day
“In addition, access to the Single Free Exchange Market is also important. And check VAT refund regimes and guarantee imports of inputs needed for production and for construction projects ”, explained the director.
As Mignacco explained to a group of journalists, “Argentina has a high tax burden and any change in the tax structure will affect the competitiveness of projects that are already underway,” he said. In this sense, withholdings are distortionary taxes. That is why we suggest is downward development along with the useful life of the projects ”, suggested,
Regarding VAT refunds, according to the head of CAEM, companies are holding meetings with the Economy, because there are significant amounts pending refunds that, in some cases, exceed 24 months. “There is a good predisposition to the Government but they review case by case,” he said.
Finally, according to the director, mining companies are also suffering some barriers to importing inputs: That is why the sector is working to avoid “bottlenecks”, said the CAEM president.
According to Kulfas, now the sector is experiencing a “historic moment” with a “boom” in investment. In the last two years, 19 companies have announced investments for more than US $ 10,000 million, according to official data from the Information System Open to the Community on Mining Activity in Argentina (Siacam). The most important investment in magnitude was the one announced by Canadian firm Lundin in November, which reached US $ 4.2 billion for the Josemaría copper-related project in San Juan.
Source: Clarin
