This report compares automatic and non-automatic transfers to provinces and municipalities during the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2023, distinguishing between those destined to cover current and capital expenditures.
The Argentine Congressional Budget Office (OPC) presented the work methodology that guarantees the transparency and thoroughness of its reports at the XXVII National Seminar on Government Budgeting that took place in July in the Paraguayan city of Encarnación.
The event, to which the OPC was invited, was organized by the Paraguayan Public Budget Association (APAPP), a non-governmental, non-profit organization whose objective is “to promote the improvement of public financial theory, technique and administration”.
The director of Fiscal and Tax Analysis of the OPC, Martín López Amorós, and the coordinator of Institutional and Parliamentary Relations, Natalia Laria, presented at the opening of the event on the legislative debate prior to the enactment of Law 27,343/2016, creating the OPC.
They also referred to the OPC’s structure, governance and the methodology for the preparation of the fiscal impact reports, which the OPC prepares at the express request of the Budget and Finance Committees of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies.
“We try to be rigorous, transparent and clear because that makes us useful and reliable”, said López Amorós, arguing why the working procedures and the appointment of directors and analysts by competitive examination and background are pillars of the political independence and technical rigor of the OPC.
The seminar, held between July 17 and 19, was attended by officials from Paraguay and Brazil, representatives of international organizations, private entities and scholars from different countries.
Representatives of the executive and legislative branches of Paraguay are analyzing the possibility of creating an agency similar to the OPC to provide technical assistance to the parliamentary debate.
In June, the stock of public debt increased, both in pesos and in foreign currency. At the end of the month, the amount payable in domestic currency reached ARS166,535.716 billion, 4.2% higher than the previous month. Foreign currency debt amounted to the equivalent of USD255.045 billion, USD372 million more than at May’s closing.
The increase in the stock of debt in pesos of ARS6,667.648 billion was the result of the combined effect of the increase in the exchange rate, inflation, and the capitalization of interest, which was partially offset by the net cancellations of principal.
Seventy-nine percent of the debt in pesos is adjustable by CER (Reference Stabilization Coefficient).
The 8th disbursement of the IMF loan for the EFF Program was received for the equivalent of USD791 million.
In June, the Treasury recorded no net financing for temporary advances, the stock of which has not changed since August 2023.
Maturities between July and December in domestic currency amount to ARS37,461.876 billion and in foreign currency are estimated at USD14.524 billion.
The bill proposes the implementation of differential electricity rates for Chaco, Corrientes, Formosa, Misiones and northern Santa Fe – as long as those areas do not have natural gas network connection -, resulting from the application of the ENRE’s rate schedule reduced by at least 30%.
For lack of information, the OPC is not in a position to estimate an accurate fiscal cost of the bill under analysis.
The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay, Raúl Latorre, expressed his interest in promoting in that country the creation of an agency similar to the Argentine Congressional Budget Office (OPC).
The idea of Latorre (ANP- Partido Colorado) was strengthened after a visit to the OPC headquarters to learn about its goals and operation, which he attended in the company of the Argentine deputy of La Libertad Avanza, Nicolás Mayoraz.
The OPC director, Gabriel Esterelles, had the opportunity to detail the work modality of the Office, the available resources and the mechanisms for the election of its authorities, among other central aspects of the institutional functioning.
Latorre visited Buenos Aires on Thursday, July 11 on behalf of the Parliament of Paraguay, a country that does not have an official body that makes budgetary information available to the legislature, as the OPC does.
From July 17-19, the Paraguayan city of Encarnación will host the XXVII National Seminar on Government Budgeting, which will be attended by officials, representatives of international organizations and scholars of various nationalities.
The OPC was invited to the event to present details of its organizational structure and operation.
This report analyzes the differences between the fiscal impact of the formula proposed in the bill and the current one, considering that the new system would come into effect on August 1. The analysis is focused on the current year and on 2025, considering different scenarios according to the evolution of the variables used for the estimates.
The bill approved by the Chamber of Deputies proposes a monthly update based on the CPI, with an annual reinforcement in March equivalent to 50% of the variation of the RIPTE (Average Taxable Remuneration of Stable Workers), if the latter had increased more than the CPI. A one-time increase complementary to that of last April will be applied, which will increase from 12.5% to 20%, and the minimum benefit will not be below the total basic food basket of an equivalent adult.
A term of six months is established for the cancellation of pension debts resulting from final rulings or those incurred in favor of the provincial funds that have not been transferred to the National Government.
