The governor of Mendoza, Alfredo Cornejo, called for advancing a comprehensive tax reform that allows for modifying the incentives of the Argentine tax system and promotes production, investment, exports, and job creation.
The Mendoza leader participated in Buenos Aires in the panel “Listening to Build. How Does a Federal Country Transform?”, where he shared the debate table with governors, business leaders, officials, and specialists to analyze the necessary changes in the fiscal scheme between the Nation and the provinces.
During his presentation, Cornejo stated that there is a political opportunity to reach agreements and emphasized that the main problems of the system are already identified.
Cornejo called for discussing spending before taxes
One of the governor's main points was that the fiscal discussion cannot be limited exclusively to a reduction of taxes, but must include a thorough review of public spending.
“I don’t think we are so far apart as to attempt to reach a consensus on a comprehensive tax reform,” said Cornejo, who recalled that tax reform is part of the structural transformations outlined in the Pact of May.
In this sense, he suggested that before defining which taxes should be modified, it is necessary to determine what kind of State is sought to be financed and what level of public spending is acceptable.
“Many times, there is too much focus on lowering taxes and not enough importance given to spending,” the governor noted. For Cornejo, it is necessary to change that perspective and first analyze how the State uses its resources.
From that definition, he considered that a tax scheme should be designed that allows financing state functions without becoming an obstacle to the growth of the private sector.
The governor called for organizing State responsibilities
Another key point of the presentation was related to the distribution of responsibilities between the Nation, provinces, and municipalities.
Cornejo recalled that provinces are responsible for fundamental services such as public education, health, a large part of security, the administration of justice, and public transportation.
He also highlighted the role of provincial justice in the functioning of the economy and the business climate, particularly in matters related to contracts and legal security.
In this context, he questioned the overlapping responsibilities that have accumulated over decades and called for establishing clearer rules regarding the functions of each level of government.
“We need to be clear about what competencies each one has, what obligations the Nation has, what obligations the provinces have, and what obligations the municipalities have,” he stated.
Cornejo called for modifying federal co-participation
The federal co-participation was another central point raised by the Mendoza governor.
