Lacalle Pou celebrated Uruguay’s growth and announced a large tax cut

The President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, celebrated the economic growth that the South American country is experiencing this Thursday in front of the General Assembly and announced a tax cut that will benefit a large number of workers and retirees in the country .

For the third consecutive year – although not an obligation for the top management – the head of state went to the Legislative Palace to give an account of the work of his Executive, in an act in which he was accompanied by all his ministers.

And, among other issues, he insisted on this wants to reach trade agreements with other countriesa desire that has become an emblem of his management.

Lacalle Pou also highlighted the export recordsthe creation of new jobs, the transformation of education and the reform of social security.

On the other hand, and at the end of a speech that lasted about an hour, Lacalle Pou announced the new measures adopted on the payment of taxes what workers and retirees do, as well as companies.

“We can go ahead with a tax cut. Lower taxes, especially for those people who make great efforts to support themselves financially and who generally don’t have the full support of the state because they are not in a vulnerable situation,” she said.

In accordance with this, he indicated that the deductions of those who pay IRPF and have dependent children, as well as those who rent or buy houses through a mortgage loan, will be increased.

“These changes 75% of taxpayers will benefitwhile 14% – nearly 63,000 Uruguayans, those with the lowest incomes – will stop paying personal income tax,” the president said.

He also announced that he will deliver on his campaign pledge and begin “reversing” the High Retirement Tax, the Higher Retirement Tax (IASS), for which the tax base will be increased. “Even about 20,000 people stop paying this tribute,” she pointed out.

After these announcements, Lacalle Pou stressed that the tax exemption between individuals and companies means 150 million dollars and was convinced that these benefits will generate “greater consumption” and “greater economic dynamism“.

field help

Before, among other topics, the president spoke about the country’s economy and said this had more than 5% growthwhile emphasizing that 40,000 new jobs were created in the last year.

In terms of exports, he celebrated that 2022 was a record year, with foreign sales exceeding $13.5 billion, most of these related to the agro-industrial sector. And he stressed the crucial importance of the field.

“There is no longer anyone else in the country who doubts that if agriculture is doing well, the country is doing well,” he reflected and promised “support rural households” in the face of drought hitting the country, the worst in several decades.

A couple of weeks ago, Lacalle launched a series of measures to help rural producers cope with the drought affecting Uruguay, Argentina and much of the region.

The first of these measures is the authorization for grazing to be carried out on national routes, provided that there is an authorization issued by the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP).

Furthermore, producers will be able to access loans with low interest rates, while there will be a reduction in the cost of electricity and some contributions that they had to pay for their work will be extended.

Open up to the world

As he has done on several occasions, the president reaffirmed Uruguay’s willingness to open up to the world and sign trade agreements that facilitate the exchange of goods and services. He added, in turn, that if agreements are reached, he will invite his partners in Mercosur – Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay – to move forward together.

He also announced the creation of an open laboratory with the Microsoft company which will be installed in Montevideo and will be the third outside the United States.

In other matters, Lacalle Pou also took the opportunity to defend the educational transformation and said that “a new way of teaching has been developed which must be appropriate to the present times”.

At the same time, he spoke about the social security reform that is being worked on and explained that it is necessary, progressive, inclusive, fair and supportive.

Finally, he highlighted some numbers relating to citizen safety, and said that although records “have improved markedly”, there is still “much to be done”.

He also celebrated the increase in adoptions and highlighted achievements in healthcare such as free access to breast implants and studies on mastectomised women.

After the speech and after announcing to the legislators that next year he will speak again before the General Assembly – as he had already done in 2021 and 2022 – the president left the Legislative Palace.

Source: EFE and editorial staff clarion