Nicolas Perez - Oficina de Presupuesto del Congreso

PUBLIC DEBT OPERATIONS – JUNE 2021

by Nicolas Perez | Jul 14, 2021 | Public Debt Operations

On June 22, an understanding was reached with the Paris Club for the debt of USD2.43 billion that was not cancelled in May. Two partial payments were agreed in July 2021 and February 2022 for USD231 million and USD199 million, respectively. Payment of the remaining balance is deferred until a new agreement is reached, with a deadline in May 2022.
In June, three market auctions were held, resulting in the placement of different instruments for a total of ARS590.86 billion, of which ARS402.51 billion were subscribed in cash. The remainder consisted of a voluntary exchange of BONCER TC21 for which BONCER T2X2 and T2X3 were placed.
Maturities for July are estimated to total the equivalent of USD5.36 billion. Excluding holdings within the public sector, maturities are reduced to USD2.61 billion, of which 72% is paid in domestic currency.

#HABLEMOSDELPRESUPUESO (LET’S TALK BUDGET): WE INTRODUCE THE JOINT ACTION PLAN BETWEEN OPC and CIVIL SOCIETY

by Nicolas Perez | Jul 8, 2021 | Activities

Together with Directorio Legislativo and with the support of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), we organized the #Hablemosdepresupuesto (Let’s talk Budget) working sessions with civil society organizations. Throughout the meetings, we exchanged work experiences and focused on identifying opportunities for improvement and continuing to strengthen relations between the Argentine Congressional Budget Office (OPC) and Civil Society.

As a result of the meetings and the joint effort, an Action Plan for the OPC was co-created. This Plan has a two-year implementation period (2021-2022) and foresees a series of activities based on the three thematic axes worked on: Dissemination Tools and Strategies; Training Activities on Fiscal Matters and Gender Responsive Public Budgeting (GRB).

The virtual sessions were attended by more than 10 civil society organizations that identified the main challenges to be addressed, expressed their vision on each axis and made concrete contributions to democratize and federalize information and knowledge within the framework of the OPC’s work.

ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL TAX REVENUE – JUNE 2021

by Nicolas Perez | Jul 7, 2021 | Tax Revenue

In June, tax revenues grew 69% year-on-year in nominal terms and 12.8% adjusted for inflation.

The increase was driven by the depreciation of the exchange rate (37% YoY), the increase in international commodity prices and regulatory changes. But the main factor behind the increase was the low basis of comparison since a year ago the Preventive and Compulsory Social Isolation (ASPO) was fully in force.

Higher customs duties revenues (47.6% YoY) – due to the increase in the exchange rate and the recovery of imports – drove an improvement in VAT.
The nominal increase of the dollar and the values of exported goods promoted an increase of 59.1% in the collection of Export Duties (YoY).
Social Security resources increased for the third consecutive time in eight months, although the expansion of the wage bill has been systematically below the CPI since June 2018.
PAIS Tax collection contracted again in the year-on-year comparison.
The growth of the economy continues to be the main determinant of tax revenue, which fell steadily since mid-2018, due to a lower level of activity and the implementation of Law 27,430 on Tax Reform and began to recover after the worst effects of the measures adopted to contain the health effects of the pandemic.

FISCAL IMPACT OF THE NATIONAL FOOD DUTY COMPLIANCE AWARENESS CAMPAIGN – BILL S-435/2021

by Nicolas Perez | Jul 6, 2021 | Cost Estimates

The Bill proposes the creation of a National Awareness Campaign on the importance of the compliance with the food duty in favor of minor daughters and sons.

To estimate the fiscal impact of the awareness campaign, the following previous campaigns were considered: “Línea 144 – Violencia de Género” (144 – Gender Violence Hotline), “De los chicos y las chicas #SomosResponsables” (From boys and girls #SomosResponsables) and “Argentina Unida contra las Violencias de Género” (Argentina United against Gender-Based Violence).

Under the assumption that the communication campaign provided for in the Bill is implemented with operational characteristics alike the advertising and communication campaigns analyzed, a fiscal cost of approximately ARS43 million per month is estimated. Assuming a three-month duration, the fiscal cost related to the Bill would amount to ARS129 million.

WE PARTICIPATED IN THE TALK “KEYS TO DEMOCRATIZE THE BUDGET DEBATE”

by Nicolas Perez | Jul 2, 2021 | Activities

On Wednesday, June 30, we participated in the event organized together with Directorio Legislativo and with the support of the NDI (National Democratic Institute).

The talk was attended by Luciano Laspina, National Deputy and Vice President of the Budget and Finance Committee of the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress, Luis Carlos Reyes Hernández, Director and Co-Founder of the Fiscal Observatory of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Colombia, Natalia Laría, Coordinator of Institutional and Parliamentary Relations of the OPC, with the coordination of Michelle Volpin, Coordinator of Citizenship and Government Institutions of Directorio Legislativo.

During the discussion, experiences in the work on fiscal issues in Colombia and Argentina were shared, as well as institutional advances in the work of the Observatory and the Argentine Congressional Budget Office (OPC). Within the framework of the meeting, we presented the OPC – OSC Action Plan resulting from the #HablemosDelPresupuesto (Let´s talk Budget) workshops, which proposes actions to be carried out jointly with civil society organizations to disseminate the work of the OPC and the training on fiscal issues.

OPC PARTICIPATED IN THE HCDN COURSE ” GENDER- RESPONSIVE BUDGETING”

by Nicolas Perez | Jun 23, 2021 | Activities

The Director of Studies, Analysis and Evaluation of the OPC, Maria Eugenia David Du Mutel de Pierrepont, gave the third class of the Course organized by the Parliamentary Training Institute (ICAP) of the Chamber of Deputies (HCDN).

During the meeting, she addressed different approaches to Gender-Responsive Budgeting (GRB). She also presented the work of the Argentine Congressional Budget Office on the promotion of gender perspective in the allocation of budgetary resources. María Eugenia reviewed the different reports on the evaluation of policies with a gender perspective, as well as on cross-cutting gender approaches in other issues.

She also introduced for the first time the Monitor of Gender-Responsive Budgetary Actions, a new tool developed by the Office that allows for a periodic follow-up of the progress of actions with a gender perspective implemented by the responsible agencies.

The meeting was attended by Silvina Felix (Moderator – ICAP), Natalia Laria (Coordinator of Parliamentary and Institutional Relations – OPC), Jimena Boland (Coordinator of the Gender Observatory – HCDN), Sofia Balestrini and Alejandra Saudino (ICAP).