Nicolas Perez - Oficina de Presupuesto del Congreso

OPC ORGANIZED THE CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICES MEETING

by Nicolas Perez | Nov 16, 2022 | Activities

On Tuesday, November 15, the Congressional Budget Offices Meeting: Achievements and Challenges of the Technical Budget Offices, organized by the Argentine Congressional Budget Office (OPC) took place in the Auditorium Hall of the Annex Building of the Honorable Senate of the Nation.

The event included several panels with experts in public finance and public budget, academics and national legislators who contributed with their views on the role of the technical budget offices in Argentina and the world.

The first panel, “Role of Congressional Budget Offices”, addressed the relationship between these offices and international best practices for governance, public policy design, transparency, and accountability. The panel was moderated by Marcos Makón, Director of the OPC and featured presentations by:

Scherie Nichols (Expert – OECD)
Roberto García López (Expert)
Diarra Sourang (Director of Economic Analysis) and Kristina Grinshpoon (Director of Fiscal Analysis) of the Parliamentary Budget Office of Canada (PBO)
Mark Hadley (Director of Operations of the U.S. Congressional Budget Office – CBO)
Rodrigo Ruiz Silva (Head of the Office of Information, Analysis and Budgetary Advisory of the Senate of Chile – OPS)

The second panel, “What is the role of the OPC in Argentina’s parliamentary work? An overview of the 2018-2022 management experience. Achievements and the road ahead”, was moderated by Deputy Germán Martinez and featured presentations by:

Luciano Laspina (National Deputy. He was part of the first OPC Parliamentary Oversight Committee)
Marco Lavagna (Former National Deputy. He was a member of the Parliamentary Oversight Committee that conducted the competitive examinations to appoint authorities of the OPC and assisted in its creation)
Juan Manuel Abal Medina (Former National Senator. He was president of the Budget Committee of the Treasury and author of Law 27,343 for the creation of the Argentine Congressional Budget Office)
Carlos Heller (National Deputy – Chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee of the Chamber of Deputies)
Ricardo Guerra (National Senator – Chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee of the Senate)

The meeting was attended by legislators, advisors, officials of the Executive Branch, legislators in office, journalists, and the general public. It was a very fruitful meeting to review the history of this institution, with interesting contributions in terms of international comparative experience and to highlight the work of this parliamentary support office at the national level.

ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET EXECUTION – OCTOBER 2022

by Nicolas Perez | Nov 16, 2022 | Budget Execution

A real contraction of revenues and of expenditures was recorded during the first ten months of the year, which led to a deepening of the negative results in the National Government’s accounts.

The primary deficit of ARS1,733.787 billion, was 21.9% higher in real terms in relation to the accumulated deficit as of October 2021, and the financial deficit increased by 9.7%.
From January to October, total revenues contracted 4.7% year-on-year (YoY), due to the lack of extraordinary resources such as Solidarity Contributions and Special Drawing Rights. Excluding these exceptional items, they would have risen 5.4% YoY.
In the last four months, primary expenditures fell 16.2% YoY, a drop that contrasts with the expansion of the first half of the year.
For the first time this year, the main expenditure items contracted in the October 2022 vs. October 2021 comparison.
The level of cumulative expenditure execution as of October 2022 is lower than in the previous year, both in current and capital expenditures.
Of the net increase in budget appropriations, 57.1% was concentrated in pensions, energy subsidies and social programs.

ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL TAX REVENUE – OCTOBER 2022

by Nicolas Perez | Nov 16, 2022 | Tax Revenue

Tax revenue amounted to ARS1,964.056 billion in October 2022, which implied a growth of 92.8% year-on-year (YoY). Adjusted for inflation, it increased 2.2% YoY.

Among tax revenues, the increase in real terms in the PAIS tax stands out, because of the return to foreign travel, a situation that will be reinforced in the coming months by the start of the Soccer World Cup. A higher level of economic activity with respect to 2021 contributed to the good performance of VAT, which also benefited from lower Refunds. Income Tax was boosted by the receipt of the first advance for the extraordinary payment applied to corporations.

Wealth Tax decreased because of a high comparison base attributable to the difference in maturities between fiscal periods.

Export Duties were sharply reduced compared to last month, because of the end of the benefits established by the Export Increase Program (DNU 576/2022) and returned to the previous pattern.

On the other hand, Social Security contributions showed a slight growth.

PUBLIC DEBT OPERATIONS – OCTOBER 2022

by Nicolas Perez | Nov 11, 2022 | Public Debt Operations

Cash securities totaling ARS 338.234 billion were placed in two auctions.
Securities in ARS indexed by CER (Stabilization Reference Coefficient) were placed in Santa Fe for ARS 195.885 billion resulting from a court order.
The IMF provided net financing of USD1.312 billion.
Debt maturities for November total USD4.452 billion, of which USD521 million are IMF interest.

CRAFT BRICK MAKING PROMOTION REGIME

by Nicolas Perez | Nov 8, 2022 | Cost Estimates

The purpose of Bill S-972/2021 is, among others, to promote the sustainable development of the production of hand molded, fired or burned bricks, at a craft level.

To this end, the Bill proposes that any individual or legal entity engaged in the production of hand molded and fired bricks, using local raw material for their production, which is marketed at first sale and whose production does not exceed the annual amount established by the regulation, obtain as benefits the accelerated amortization of the goods used for production and the advance in the refund of VAT credits generated in the purchase of such goods, tax stability and credits at a subsidized rate.

Given the nature of the proposed benefits, the Bill generates impacts in financial terms, but does not imply a loss of public resources.

BUDGET BILL 2023 CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES’ APPROVAL

by Nicolas Perez | Nov 1, 2022 | Budget Law

The amendments introduced by the Chamber of Deputies’ approval in the 2023 Budget Bill, provide for an increase in expenditures of ARS 567.700 billion, equivalent to 0.4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Of these funds, ARS 244.413 billion will be used to finance cross-cutting policies, mainly food programs.

This increase is not included in the first Section of the Bill, so there should be decreases in other expenditures or new funding to cover it.

There is insufficient information available to assess the impact of changes in tax revenues.

If as of August 31, 2023, the cumulative inflation rate exceeds the annual target established in the Budget Bill by 10%, or if the National Public Sector revenues exceed by 10% those projected for the cumulative period, the National Executive Branch must submit a Supplementary Law to Congress and an expenditure plan for the fourth quarter.