Tax revenue fell by more than USD 4 billion

Tax collection has not yet recovered. The pandemic is one of the causes.

Between January and August, tax revenues fell by USD 4.263 million. This is an issue that worsens, especially when compared to the same period in 2019.

The main reason is that tax collection – one of the main sources of income in the country – is not recovering, since there are still businesses operating at less than capacity and household consumption is not recovering in the midst of the pandemic.

The former Minister of Economy, Fausto Ortiz, pointed out that the collection of taxes in August is the lowest recorded in that month in the last nine years.

He warned that the collection will continue to fall until the end of the year. This, because also a ruling of the Constitutional Court did not allow to receive in advance the Income Tax.

The oil income also complicates the accounts. This is the item that registers the strongest contraction this year. In eight months, the country has received 13% of everything that had been estimated from the sale of crude.

The Treasury has had to prioritize expenses. To do this, it has resorted to three strategies: reduce expenses, delay payments and ask for emergency loans.

This last point was finalized last Monday, once the Government managed to exchange the debt in bonds with the holders.

In the opinion of Alberto Acosta Burneo, editor of Analysis Semanal, the adjustments made could further harm economic performance. He did not rule out that the new government makes cuts.