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Will Paraguay raise taxes? Lawmaker Meza suggests taxing meat and sugary drinks to Peña Image: Instagram Santiago Peña
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Economy & Trade

Will Paraguay raise taxes? Lawmaker Meza suggests taxing meat and sugary drinks to Peña

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Paraguayan lawmaker Hugo Meza said he proposed that President Santiago Peña consider raising or creating taxes other than value-added tax to address the budget deficit.
  • His suggestions include higher excise taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks, as well as taxes on meat, soy and some medicines.
  • Producers and doctors instead urged the government to reduce political waste and privileges, while Meza said spending cuts alone would not solve the problem.

Paraguay may need a broader tax base, according to ruling-party ally and Chamber of Deputies Vice President Hugo Meza. In a phone conversation with President Santiago Peña, Meza proposed raising several taxes or creating new ones, while excluding value-added tax because it affects citizens most directly.

His list included higher excise taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks. He also floated taxes on meat and soybean exports, as well as medicines that are increasingly used to treat diabetes and obesity.

Many people reacted when the possibility of working on a new tax base was mentioned. It is necessary. Today citizens want education like Finland’s and healthcare like Europe’s, and we will not achieve that with this budget.

— Hugo MezaThe lawmaker defended considering new taxes to finance public services and address the budget deficit.

“Many people reacted when the possibility of working on a new tax base was mentioned. It is necessary. Today citizens want education like Finland’s and healthcare like Europe’s, and we will not achieve that with this budget,” Meza said.

Yes, spending must improve. Privileges must be cut, but that is only a percentage and will not solve the problem we have today.

— Hugo MezaMeza responded to calls from businesses and other sectors to reduce political waste instead of raising taxes.

Productive sectors and medical groups have argued that Paraguay should instead cut political waste. Meza acknowledged the need to improve public spending and end privileges, but said those measures would represent only a portion of the savings needed. “Yes, spending must improve. Privileges must be cut, but that is only a percentage and will not solve the problem we have today,” he said.

Meza questioned why discussions focus mainly on cigarettes while leaving alcohol and sugary drinks aside. He also pointed to Paraguay’s meat exports, saying slaughterhouses bill about $2.3 billion abroad while the product faces no export tax. He estimated Paraguay’s global sales at roughly $2.5 billion and argued that a meat tax would not necessarily hurt competitiveness. If exports suffered, he said, the country could give priority to the domestic market. He later added soybean exports and backed a proposal by lawmaker Carlos Marcial Godoy to tax medical products.

Why would we lose competitiveness if we have the best, finest meat in the world?

— Hugo MezaHe argued that taxing meat exports would not necessarily damage Paraguay’s position in international markets.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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