The good news is that if you live in Colordao, you may – if it’s your bag – set aside your beginning-of-year blues with a few spliffs of legal weed.
No such joy for those of us south of the border, who on January 1 woke up to a slew of new taxes, with the eight-percent hike on high-calorific foods – pan dulce (sweet bread), chips, soda, etcetera – garnering the most attention.
In addition, motorists found themselves hit with a one-time, “larger than average” hike of 19 centavos for Magna gas, 21 for Premium and 24 for diesel. Regular monthly hikes will kick in from February 1.
Electricity and natural (LP) gas will cost more, even though the federal government promised that recent energy reforms would result in lower power costs.
The price of water in the Guadalajara metropolitan area has also increased. Consumers who use an average of around 25 cubic meters a month can expect to pay 25 percent more. An average monthly bill of around 220 pesos will go up to 285 pesos.Economists tend to agree that the new taxes will push up inflation, especially in January and February, above the official estimates.
Although the government likes to stress that high earners and heavy consumers of resources will be most affected, it is citizens on the bottom rung of the social ladder – whose greatest expenditure is on food – who will feel the cost of living spike most harshly, economists generally agree.
Many businesses and individuals owing back taxes received a new year’s shock after Mexico’s tax authority (Servicio de Administración Tributaria or SAT) decided to publish their names on January 1. The blacklist only details names and does not specify the amounts owed. It will be updated every 15 days and is accessible to all. As well as many well-known firms, government agencies feature prominently on the list, which includes the Chapala water utility, among others.
The list also names people and firms that have gone to ground to avoid paying tax, or that SAT is unable to trace. Strangely, this register includes the 2011 Pan American Games Committee and three well-known private universities: Univer, Uteg and UTJ.
SAT is also delivering on its promise to bring to light companies that sell fake facturas or are involved with money laundering.
Explains Lakeside lawyer Spencer McMullen: “One’s ability to deduct an expense on one’s taxes may be limited if a company is a known seller of fake facturas. You will have 15 days once the company’s name is published to respond to SAT and prove that you actually received the goods and services listed on the factura.”
McMullen also points out that under the new regulations if a company has tax debt “there could be a lien on their property so they may not have the right to dispose of the property.”