Prime Minister Fernando Zavala has requested legislative powers to the Congress of Peru so that the country can achieve sustained growth and, therefore, meet the needs of its citizens.
“The powers we request today will allow us to start fulfilling the commitments we made the day we assumed office. Every measure we propose here is required to make our dream of a modern and more equitable country come true,” he affirmed.
Zavala explained the request for legislative powers comprises five strategic areas. The first one encompasses economic reactivation and formalization. To that end, the government will increase the tax base by reducing the general sales tax (IGV) by one percentage point from 18% to 17%, benefiting those with lower income.
Likewise, the government will increase the business income tax rate for medium and large businesses in favor of regional and local governments. A special income tax regime will be introduced for micro and small businesses (MSBs) in favor of formal entrepreneurs, who will pay fewer taxes in an easy way.
Zavala affirmed public and private investment projects need to be unblocked to revive the economy. This way the existing infrastructure gap will be reduced and formalization satisfaction will increase.
Legislative powers will also help enhance and reorganize Proinversion, and therefore, improve efficiency, quality and speed in the completion of public-private partnership projects at the national, regional and local levels.
Security
The second area deals with public safety. It aims to improve legal tools against crime in all its forms. “In order to eradicate this activity and provide effective criminal sanctions, the current legal framework has to be adjusted, so that punishments turn more severe and cumulative sentences can be used to punish organized crime,” Zavala pointed out.
Corruption
The third area has to do with the fight against corruption, and the government’s first measure in this regard includes establishing the National Authority for Transparency, Access to Public Information and Personal Data, whose objective will be to ensure the right of access to information, at the administrative level, by punishing officials that obstruct or impede its delivery.
Water and Sanitation
The fourth area involves water and sanitation. In this case, the Government seeks to strengthen technical capacities of the Technical Agency for the Management of Sanitation Services (Otass), and to allow the Housing Ministry to grant projects for construction, operation, and maintenance of sanitation, and the reuse of wastewater and treatment derivatives.
Petroperu
Finally, the fifth area is about Petroperu’s restructuring. The initiative is intended to avoid oil spill from its pipeline and make sure the company operates within the standards required around the world.
(END) NDP/JCC/CVC/RMB
Published: 9/8/2016