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IMF loan deal does not entail raising taxes: Ecuadorian gov't

Xinhua News,QUITO
2020-10-08 04:25

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QUITO, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Ecuador's government has no intention of introducing new taxes or raising the 12 percent value added tax (VAT) in the wake of its August loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Economy and Finance Ministry said on Wednesday.

"At this time, there is no tax reform bill that has been sent to the National Assembly (Congress) for processing," the ministry said in a statement issued by the presidency's National Secretariat of Communication.

"We reiterate that the value added tax is not going up, we are not taking away any tax breaks from any sector of the population and no new taxes are being created," the ministry added.

The statement followed local media reports that the government's agreement with the IMF included proposed tax reforms to raise revenues by 2 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, the year the economy is expected to recover.

According to the terms of the agreement published on Monday, for 6.5 billion U.S. dollars to be paid over 27 months, the IMF recommended raising the VAT to 15 percent.

Implementing the reforms would fall to the next administration, as President Lenin Moreno's term ends in May 2021 and elections are to be held in February.
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