MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Paraguay vetoes bill imposing 10% export tax on cereals and oilseeds
Paraguayan president Horacio Cartes vetoed the bill imposing a 10% tax on export of cereals and oilseeds in their natural state recently approved by a divided Congress, arguing it was “highly distortive and regressive”. The bill now returns to the legislative. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesIt was to be expected that this tax would be vetoed.It was badly thought out as it affects both small farmers as well as multinationals.
Oct 17th, 2013 - 02:47 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I would agree that the agricultural sector should contribute to the expansion of rural infrastructure and particularly the repair and maintenance of rural roads but it should be done on the basis of quien mas rompe , mas paga. (Those who use the roads most should pay more)
An example of this from Uruguay and the Patrimonio tax
An extensive sheep farmer perhaps uses his road for heavy transport trucks perhaps 8-10 times a year. The big forestry companies use the same road perhaps ten or twelve times a week
The forestry people pay no patrimonio tax,so who pays for their use of the roads? The sheep farmer of course
Perhaps the best wayis to tax the trucking companies.That way they will pass on thier own increased costs to the farmers and foresters who most use the roads
1) Interesting point you mention, in Argentina farmers have consortiums to fix up the dirt roads, in some places they work, some others they don’t. The truckers could of course pay something back, but the Camioneros Union of Hugo Moyano is very very powerful they will never put up with something like that easily. On the other hand if the roads had proper maintenance they would spend less on repairs on their own trucks.
Oct 17th, 2013 - 03:10 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@2 I dont see why Moyano should object as the truckers would pass on the increased tax burdens to the consumers of thier services, in particular to the agricultural sector in this case
Oct 17th, 2013 - 04:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@3 I do see your point, but already its more expensive to have a truck load moving from Mendoza to the port of Rosario than it is to move a container all the way to Shangai by sea. Big farms will eventually buy their own trucks if it is far to expensive to hire their servives.
Oct 17th, 2013 - 05:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@4 Yes I know that from my own experience. The answer is to use containerised traffic ofnon perishables by rail and so reduce costs
Oct 17th, 2013 - 06:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0If the truckers could only see sense in an integrated transport systemthey would be able to use thier motive power at greater efficiency and profit
Oh dear railways! Paraguay doesnt have any now. Argentinas system is almost defunct and those that occasionally “walk” on the Uruguayan system work on the smell of an oil rag through lack of investment
Cartes, you have my support.
Oct 17th, 2013 - 06:25 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You a brasaguayo brasileiro?
Oct 17th, 2013 - 06:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Don't the truckers already pay high road tax to the Intendcia?
Oct 17th, 2013 - 07:19 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The roads in Uruguay are in an awful state with potholes that I have known on Ruta 12 for more than two years. Each year before the season Maldonado chuck some cold tarred rubble into them and run over it with a small road roller: it never works for more than a couple of weeks.
I pay more road tax for my motorcycle than I do for my car, how the hell does that work?
You have my sympathies Chris.Yes its crazy
Oct 17th, 2013 - 08:30 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@7
Oct 17th, 2013 - 09:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I am Brazilian. I have soy in Paraguay.
Brazsileiro Thank you for clarifying your interests from which I can now understand the tenor and motive of your previous posts
Oct 17th, 2013 - 09:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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