Governor Maximiliano Pullaro participated on Saturday night in the 66th edition of the traditional Strawberry Festival in the city of Coronda, where he stressed that "the only way for Argentina to move forward is if it manages to produce more." Accompanied by Mayor Ricardo Ramírez; the Ministers of Equality and Human Development, Victoria Tejeda; Economy, Pablo Olivares; Culture, Susana Rueda; the Secretary of Institutional Management of the Ministry of Justice and Security, Virginia Coudannes; and Departmental Senator Leonardo Diana, the provincial leader toured the exhibition and spoke with local producers.
During his visit, Pullaro highlighted the importance of strengthening Santa Fe's production as an engine of national development: "From that position, we have worked on a plan with 40 productive roundtables that have allowed us to improve. From the Santa Fe Business Forum, which allows us to look at the internationalisation of export policies, to actions that directly link producers with those who can buy from them, in order to boost sectors, sales and trade. We are very satisfied: the province of Santa Fe is driving the economy and growth of the Argentine Republic."
The governor reiterated that the productive interior needs greater attention from the national government. "We are constantly asking the national government and the different governments to look at the province of Santa Fe, which contributes so much and receives so little. We need to produce more, and for that we need better roads, energy and logistics infrastructure, ports, airports and connectivity that allow us to take our products to the world and lower production costs so that we can produce more cheaply," he emphasised.
Advocacy for a reduction in the tax burden
When asked about the reforms being promoted by the national government, particularly tax reforms, Pullaro firmly stated that withholding taxes (charged by the national government) "are the most regressive tax in the Argentine Republic." In this vein, he argued: "The province of Santa Fe contributes around 3 billion dollars a year to the national government, and unfortunately nothing comes back. Those resources end up subsidising barons in the suburbs, political bosses, and welfare programmes in the Buenos Aires suburbs. That is why we have to start discussing the Argentine tax system again."
The governor stressed that "we need all taxes - national, provincial and local - to be lowered in order to produce more," and called for a more equitable distribution of resources, which he said are currently "concentrated in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area to the detriment of the productive interior."
Pullaro agreed on the need for a general reduction in taxes, insisting on the cases of withholding taxes and the cheque tax, "two very regressive taxes for the Argentine Republic."
National reforms
In relation to labour reform, he reiterated the need for "a focus on SMEs and also on workers, fundamentally in order to be able to employ people who are currently in the informal sector. Fifty per cent of Argentines work, but in the informal sector. We need to incorporate them into the formal labour market."
On tax reform, Pullaro expressed his agreement with the need for a general reduction in taxes, insisting on the cases of withholding taxes and the cheque tax, "two very regressive taxes for the Argentine Republic". In addition, he said that "if this happens and Argentina grows, we are committed to also lowering gross income, something we believe is essential to continue boosting production".
Regarding criminal reform, Pullaro was categorical: "We must look at penalties from a different perspective, not from the perspective of guarantees as we have done until now. People who commit crimes must pay in prison and not have any privileges."
