Nicolas Perez - Oficina de Presupuesto del Congreso

ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL TAX REVENUE – MARCH 2021

by Nicolas Perez | Apr 9, 2021 | Tax Revenue

National tax revenue grew 22.1% in real terms in March with respect to the same month of the previous year, which implied the seventh consecutive term of increase above inflation and the highest growth since December 2016.

With AR$763.85 billion, the nominal increase was 72.2% year on year driven by the depreciation of the exchange rate (44.3% in one year) and regulatory changes that increased revenues from Wealth Tax, Co-participated Internal Taxes and Export Duties.

The increase in taxes related to foreign trade was not only influenced by the currency evolution but also by the increase in the price of exported goods and the low base of comparison, since last year many transactions had been settled before March. In addition, the Preventive and Mandatory Social Isolation, which slowed down the economic activity since March 20, 2020, also affected other taxes.

Social Security resources continue to fall. Since June 2018, the wage bill has been systematically below the CPI due to a drop in registered employment and a salary depreciation in nominal terms.
Because of the greater restrictions on the purchase of foreign currency and foreign travel, the PAIS Tax collected AR$5.78 billion in March, which represents a nominal decrease of 9.6% and a drop of 35.9% YoY since its creation.

FISCAL IMPACT OF BILL S-0269/2020 ON EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN AND TRANSVESTITES, TRANSSEXUALS, AND TRANSGENDER PERSONS IN RURAL AREAS

by Nicolas Perez | Apr 6, 2021 | Cost Estimates

The purpose of Bill S-0269/2020 is to promote the effective empowerment of women and transvestites, transsexuals, and transgender persons who live in rural areas and who perform, in addition to unpaid domestic and care work, productive work related to agriculture and livestock farming or who are responsible for agricultural and livestock farms.

Section 8 of the Bill provides that expenditures related to technical training, the granting of financial benefits and the building or adaptation of spaces for the reconciliation of family and work will be financed with resources from the Fund for the Promotion of the Effective Participation of Women and Diversities in Rural Areas (FoPPeMuDiR). To estimate the fiscal impact related to the Bill, it is necessary to know the criteria to be used in the creation of the Fund.

Science and Parliament: Evidence-based Legislation

by Nicolas Perez | Mar 2, 2021 | Activities

On Friday, February 26, the OPC participated in the meeting “Science and Parliament: Evidence-based Legislation”. Organized by the Center for Parliamentary Studies, Research and Foresight of the School of Politics, Government and International Relations of Universidad Austral and the International Network for Scientific Advice to Governments, Latin American and Caribbean Chapter (INGSA), the meeting was attended by national legislators, authorities from different areas of the National Congress, science and technology experts and authorities from related institutions.

A report prepared by Universidad Austral was submitted, which reviews the experiences of Germany, Austria, Chile, Korea, Denmark, USA, France, Finland, Greece, Japan, and the European Union, among others. At the sub-national level, the cases of Mendoza, Catalonia and Wallonia are mentioned. The research focuses on the strategic interrelation between science and parliament and the room for improvement, as well as the need to increase the participation of civil society organizations and the scientific community.

The General Director of the OPC, Marcos Makón, introduced OPC’s work and emphasized the three fundamental pillars that support its work: transparency, technical and methodological rigor, and political impartiality.

He also highlighted the importance of the work of other Budget Offices around the world and the value of their objective and technical approach to the analysis of fiscal issues.

At the end of his speech, the speakers answered questions and doubts, creating a space for dialogue and institutional exchanges.

Institutional meeting with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

by Nicolas Perez | Feb 25, 2021 | Activities

Last Friday, February 12, the OPC held a presentation on cross-cutting policies and programs in the 2021 National Budget, with the participation of officials from various government agencies of the Republic of Colombia, as well as members of the Institute for the Evaluation of Public Policies of Mexico (INEVAP).

The meeting, organized by members of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), focused on the cross-cutting policy of gender equity, and included contextual references to the management of budgetary information in Argentina, as well as on the Budget itself.

Participating on behalf of the OPC were: General Director Marcos Makon, Director of Studies, Analysis and Evaluation María Eugenia David Du Mutel de Pierrepont and IT advisor Marta Vázquez.

The participants from the Secretariat of Finance of Bogotá were: Secretary Juan Mauricio Ramírez and Technical Undersecretary José Alejandro Cortés; from the Secretariat for Women: Technical Undersecretary Diana Parra; from the Secretariat of Health, Planning Director Cristina Losada; from the Secretariat of the Mayor’s Office, performance measurement specialist Juan Sebastián Ramírez; from the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic of Colombia, performance audit specialist Luis Edgar Michaels.

Also participating in the meeting were Public Management Cluster Manager Edgardo Mosqueira, IDB Technical Assistance Program Manager Jorge Kaufmann (Washington office); and Expenditure Quality specialists Verónica Vasconez and Fabricio Rodríguez (Ecuador office).

There was time for questions and a brief discussion at the end of the meeting on the importance of focusing on policy results as a mechanism to strengthen the link between budgets and government actions.

ANALYSIS OF THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET AMENDMENTS FOR THE YEAR 2021

by Nicolas Perez | Jan 3, 2021 | Budget Amendments

The Budget Law passed by the National Congress is amended during the year in accordance with the delegation of powers arising from the regulations in force. Within this framework, it is important to analyze those amendments to provide updated data on the budgetary dynamics throughout the fiscal year.

To this end, these periodic reports focus on the analysis of budgetary amendments made by Administrative Decisions of the Chief of Cabinet of Ministers (JGM) or by Necessity and Urgency Decrees (DNU).

Participation in the “G20 Global Leadership Program”

by Nicolas Perez | Dec 29, 2020 | Activities

María Pía Brugiafreddo, analyst of the Directorate of Studies, Analysis and Evaluation of the OPC, completed her participation in the “G20 Global Leadership Program”, organized by the Korea Development Institute (KDI) School of Public Policy and Management of South Korea.

Her final paper was among the fifteen outstanding papers from a total of seventy-four participants and was awarded by KDI School for its value for knowledge exchange.

These instances of learning and exchanges are essential for the growth of the Argentine Congressional Budget Office (OPC). The permanent training of the OPC team is essential for the strengthening and dissemination of our work.