Paraguayan cooperatives protest against the increase of the VAT
The Paraguayan ministry of finance has announced that, on the 1st of November, the value added tax (VAT) for cooperatives will enter into force, based on the law that was sanctioned back in early September. “This increase rise of the VAT for cooperatives, whose special tax treatment is one of the most advanced in the world, is setting us back greatly” declared asked sources from CICOPA Mercosur.
26 October 2015
Thousands of members of service and consumer cooperatives protested in front of the congress on Monday October 19, with the help of farmers, against the implementation of a law that applies the VAT on loans, default interests and repayment of credits. “The government is in deficit, and wants to tax us to repay its debt”, they declared.
The mobilization of cooperators has benefited from support of billions of people from the national federation of farmers (Federación Nacional Campesina), one of the most important ones in Paraguay. “Numerous farmers are also cooperators and we are suffering from the market fall of our horticultural products. And while we are going through this they want to add on the VAT on small loans. This government is insensitive” they said.
The national institute of cooperatives has informed that 450 cooperatives have more than 1 billion members affiliated. Paraguay has a population of 6, 6 million.
Articles on the same topic:
Paraguay will apply VAT tax on services co-operatives provide to their members