On October 10th, the Chamber of Deputies’ Budget Committee made progress regarding the 2019 Budget, which could reach the floor by October 24th. The ruling party had to give in on some of the most controversial aspects, among them, removing two articles that taxed some items of salaries until now free from Income Tax and keeping the exemption for small cooperatives engaged in financial or insurance activities. The debate will resume next week. The President of the Central Bank is also expected to be convened in the coming weeks.  

In addition to forecasting expenditures and resources for 2019, the bill includes 47 articles that seek to amend existing laws or establish permanent provisions. Negotiations between the ruling party and the opposition blocs are largely related to these provisions. Opposition forces argue that these deliberations should be raised outside the budget, while the president of the Budget Committee claims that Cambiemos will move forward with its own ruling if no agreement is reached. One of the most pressing points is the amendment of Article 65 of Law 24.156 on Financial Administration, which empowers the Executive Branch to restructure public debt “in accordance with prevailing market conditions”. This change is vital for the government to be able to renegotiate debt repayments.

The creation of two trusts for the development of public infrastructure and Public-Private Partnership contracts has also been questioned, as well as the amendment of Law 27.328 on Public-Private Partnership Contracts. The main economic leaders of the opposition contend that these changes will radically change the rules that were set when the law was enacted in 2016. The ruling party also seeks to modify the board of directors and the decision-making mechanism of the Financial Information Unit (Law 25246) and to exclude the social security agency ANSES from the scope of fiscal secrecy.