Montevideo, (EFE).- The president of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, celebrated before the General Assembly the economic growth that the South American country is experiencing and announced a reduction in taxes.
For the third consecutive year -despite not being an obligation for the leaders- the head of state went to the Legislative Palace to give an account of the work of his Executive, in an act in which he was accompanied by all his ministers.
The record in terms of exports, the intention to negotiate free trade agreements with other countries, the creation of new jobs, the educational transformation and the social security reform were some of the topics mentioned in the president’s speech.
On the other hand, and at the end of a speech that lasted about an hour, Lacalle Pou announced the new measures taken on the payment of taxes by workers and retirees, as well as companies.
“We are in a position to proceed with a tax cut. Lower taxes, especially for those people who make great efforts to support themselves financially and who generally do not have full support from the State because they are not in a vulnerable situation, ”he pointed out.
In accordance with this, it indicated that the deductions of those who pay Personal Income Tax (IRPF) and have dependent children will be increased, as well as those who rent or acquire homes through a mortgage loan.
“These changes will benefit 75% of taxpayers, while 14% -close to 63,000 Uruguayans, those with lower incomes- will stop paying personal income tax,” said the president.
He also stressed that some 20,000 retirees will stop paying the Social Security Assistance Tax (IASS).
After these announcements, Lacalle Pou pointed out that the tax waiver between individuals and companies means 150 million dollars and he was convinced that these benefits will generate “greater consumption” and “greater economic dynamism”.
Growth, technological and educational transformation
Before, among other topics, the president spoke about the country’s economy and said that it had a growth of more than 5%, while stressing that 40,000 new jobs were created in the last year.
In terms of exports, he celebrated that 2022 was a record year, with foreign sales exceeding 13.5 billion dollars, most of these linked to the agro-industrial sector.
He also announced the creation of an open laboratory with the Microsoft company that will be installed in Montevideo and will be the third to be outside the United States.
On the other hand, as he did on several occasions, the president reiterated Uruguay’s willingness to open up to the world and sign trade agreements that facilitate the exchange of goods and services.
He said once again that if agreements are reached, he will invite his Mercosur partners -Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay- to move forward together.
In other matters, Lacalle Pou also took the opportunity to defend the educational transformation and said that “a new way of teaching that has to be appropriate to the times” has been developed.
At the same time, he spoke about the social security reform that is being worked on and explained that it is necessary, progressive, inclusive, fair and supportive.
Finally, he highlighted some numbers related to citizen security, and said that although the records “have improved significantly,” there is still “much to be done.”
In addition, he celebrated the increase in adoptions and highlighted achievements in health such as free access to breast implants and studies of mastectomized women.
After the speech and after announcing to the legislators that next year he will speak before the General Assembly again -as he had already done in 2021 and 2022- the president left the Legislative Palace.
