In Morón, the 'COVID Tax' is still in effect even though the pandemic has already ended.

In the municipality of Morón, governed by the Kirchnerist mayor Lucas Ghi, a remarkable tax created during the pandemic and popularly nicknamed the "COVID tax" remains in effect.

This is the Tax for Epidemiological Studies and Prevention (TEPE), an additional 20% levy on the Security and Hygiene Tax (TISH), applied to businesses such as hypermarkets, supermarkets, wholesalers, and bars or restaurants considered major taxpayers, which represents an average additional annual cost of 6 million for some companies in the district.

Although the pandemic caused by the Chinese virus ended years ago, this absurd tax remains in effect in 2025, which demonstrates that its only objective is to take money from the private sector to give it to the municipality. The levy is still applied to medium and large taxpayers, who eventually pass that cost on to the consumer, generating a general impact on the price of goods and services.

The discontent is also reflected on social media, where the libertarian mayor himself Diego Valenzuela criticized the fact that the Tax for Epidemiological Studies and Prevention (TEPE), originally established in the context of COVID, is still in effect. "We need more investment and more jobs, it can't be that in Morón there's still a tax for COVID," Valenzuela criticized on social media.

The contrast with Tres de Febrero

In contrast to the situation in Morón, the libertarian mayor of Tres de Febrero, Diego Valenzuela, implemented a fiscal policy aimed at reducing taxes and levies, with the goal of encouraging private investment and local economic development.

This strategy resulted in the creation of jobs and generation of wealth, thanks to the elimination of taxes that increased the burden on businesses and entrepreneurs, in line with his view that "less taxes means more jobs."

A few weeks ago, the municipality approved new ordinances aimed at consolidating this approach: among them, the Municipal Investment Generation Incentive Regime (RIGI), designed to attract new companies and boost private investment in the district, just like the initiatives promoted at the national level by President Javier Milei, and very different from the situation in Morón.