Surprisingly, the Gabriel Boric government’s tax reform project failed yesterday, Wednesday, after it failed to reach the necessary votes in the House of Representatives to approve the idea of legislation.
The initiative, which is one of the main pillars of the Frente Amplio administration, along with pensions and health, was presented at the end of last year by the government and since then intensive negotiations have been held with the opposition.
The text included, in addition to increasing corporate taxes and establishing several others, a wealth tax, known as a “tax on the rich”. This was one of the obstacles that prompted the right to announce, at the beginning of this week, its intention to reject the project due to the authorities’ unwillingness to talk.
The reform aims to collect 4.1% of GDP in taxes within four years.
Minister of Finance , Mario MarcelPuzzled by what had happened, he realized that there were few prospects of progress in this matter because, although the Constitution allows the President to insist on his initiative in the Senate, in the said chamber two-thirds of the vote is required, which is almost impossible to do. Investigate because The ruling party and the opposition are linked.
Although the government has the necessary votes in the room to approve today the idea of legislation and then start reviewing the articles in particular, an unrelated incident, which took place on Tuesday, shattered the FA’s wishes.
The reform required the majority of those present in the room, that is, 78 deputies out of 155, and in counting the votes, the project received 73 votes in favor, 71 against and 3 abstentions, which adds as a basis for rejection.
The government had 78 votes, but the day before yesterday a female deputy from the Football Association got involved in a strong argument with the Minister of Education, and that is why she withdrew yesterday, Wednesday, from the hall at the time of the vote, and was accompanied by two other deputies. Which makes the initiative fail.
When the House of Origin rejects the idea of legislation, the bill may not be introduced again until a year later unless a higher quorum is insisted before the review chamber, a course of which Burek does not at present contemplate.
