Cement block of 9 kilos: the Cordovan businessmen who joined

2023-06-14 14:25:44

A curious letter reached the Finance and Budget Committees of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies of the Nation. It was carved from a 9-kilo cement block. And it was sent by a group of 850 businessmen from all over the country with the intention of claiming for the fiscal cost and the burdensome backpack that sustaining the State implies.

Precisely, to represent “the weight of the State” is that it was decided to carve the message in a cement block.

The letter can be read on the El Peso del Estado site and, among other messages, it states:

When analyzing the formal tax burden on companies, measured as a percentage of net profit, Argentina leads the world ranking with an average of 106%, compared to the world average of 40.5% and the South American average of 50.3% ( from 34% in Chile to 83.7% in Bolivia, with the rest of the countries in intermediate values; data from the World Bank in its 2020 Business Ready report).

In order for Argentine companies to be able to compete and generate the exports that Argentina so badly needs to balance its trade balance, they need conditions similar to those of their neighbors in the region. The Argentine private sector has the best opportunity for growth, development and job creation in decades due to three main reasons:

First of all, we have a stock of human capital with great potential, which is reflected in the unicorns we have, in the exports of US$8 billion from the knowledge economy and in thousands of startups that are created to give services to the world.

Secondly, we are a privileged country in terms of natural resources. Today, the world demands food and energy at prices with very good margins (if we remove withholdings).

Third, the private sector has more than US$300 billion in financial assets in dollars, with low financial liabilities (the total debt of the private sector with the financial system represents only 8% of GDP).

A balanced budget for 2024, agreed upon and voted in the National Congress by the majority political forces, is an unavoidable step to begin to restore confidence in Argentina by national and foreign investors and take advantage of the opportunities that our country offers in agribusiness. , energy, mining, software development, tourism, among other activities that attract private investment and generate employment in the formal sector of the economy.

For these reasons, we urge the members of the Budget and Finance Committees of Deputies and Senators to immediately, with patriotism, generosity and leaving aside sectorial or partisan interests, focus on agreeing on a 2024 Budget that allows for a balanced fiscal.

Cordoba who signed. The letter was signed by 850 businessmen. Of that total, about 120 are from Córdoba. Some of them are: