April 25, 2008

Argentine judges to hear lawsuits on soy export tax
 

Two federal judges in Argentina have agreed to hear lawsuits over the constitutionality of the government's recent increase in the export tax on soybeans, local daily Noticias AgroPecuarias reported Thursday (April 24, 2008).

The complaints filed in Buenos Aires and Entre Rios provinces say the higher taxes constitute an unconstitutional seizure of property. The suits also say it is the place of Congress to impose taxes, not the executive branch, which has employed emergency power decrees to bypass the legislative branch since a financial meltdown in 2002.

On March 11, the government announced changes to the export tax structure on grains using a sliding scale with rates increasing as export values rise. The new taxes initially pushed the export tax on soybeans up to about 45 percent up from 35 percent previously.

The new tax prompted farmers to launch a crippling three-week strike in March and vow to resume blockades on May 2 if the government does not offer concrete concessions, mainly the reversal of the new sliding-scale tax.