The Minister of Economy, Luis "Toto" Caputo, announced that the Government will increase the amount allocated to VAT refunds accumulated by small and medium-sized enterprises by $50 billion, a measure with which the administration of Javier Milei seeks to provide financial relief to one of the central sectors of the economy while continuing to advance with tax reductions and the consolidation of fiscal balance.
“We are going to increase the amount of VAT refunds that many SMEs have. The increase we are going to make specifically for SMEs will be $50 billion. We hope it provides significant relief,” Caputo stated during an interview with Nicolás Wiñazki and Cecilia Boufflet on A24.
The head of the Treasury also confirmed that the Government intends to continue reducing the tax burden as public accounts are consolidated. He explained that the national administration has already managed to reduce taxes by an amount equivalent to three percentage points of the product without resorting to new taxes to maintain fiscal balance. “We need to keep lowering taxes. We have already reduced taxes by three points and achieved fiscal balance without raising taxes,” he emphasized.
Caputo also defended the strategy implemented since December 2023 and assured that the Government managed to avoid an economic crisis without confiscating deposits, breaching contracts, or advancing against private property, as occurred during previous administrations in situations that were considerably less delicate.
“We inherited the worst economic situation in history. For much less, in the past, our politicians decided to trample on private property,” said the official, who considered that this was the first time Argentina managed to avoid a crisis of such magnitude.
On social matters, he acknowledged that there are still Argentines struggling to make ends meet, but stated that the trend shows a significant improvement. “What I need to look at is that those who can't make ends meet are fewer and fewer. That is my mission as minister,” he pointed out.
In this regard, he assured that there are currently “14 million people who are better off” and highlighted that, according to the figures mentioned during the interview, extreme poverty has decreased from 20% to approximately 6%.
The minister also supported the reform of the Central Bank's Organic Charter promoted by Milei, aimed at preventing the monetary authority from financing the fiscal deficit through issuance again. Caputo described the initiative as “foundational” and assured that it will allow “to deliver a blow to inflation” and consolidate economic stability over the coming decades.
Finally, he highlighted the President's leadership and stated that his figure will be essential to ensure the continuity of the course in the coming years. “He must be valued as the president we have. In the next five years, the fundamental person is the President; there is no replacement. After eight years, the course will be very clear, it will be another Argentina”, he concluded.
