Providencia Mayor Evelyn Matthei criticized the economic and reconstruction reform proposal led by José Antonio Kast's faction on Tuesday. Speaking on Radio Pauta, the former presidential candidate questioned the effectiveness of the employment incentive measures contained within the project.
Matthei argued that the initiative would fail to generate new jobs. “It is extremely expensive and will achieve absolutely nothing in terms of employment (…) it is totally useless,” she stated, according to latercera.com.
The Chile Vamos leader focused her critique on the elimination of the Sence tax incentive. According to her calculations, this measure would result in a fiscal impact of $1.4 billion per year without providing any real benefits to employment rates.
“That proposal (…) costs $1.4 billion a year—it's outrageous. With that, you could almost lower the tax rate by three percentage points,” Matthei maintained. The former mayoral candidate was blunt regarding the plan: “That proposal is extremely bad. I would vote against it regardless.”
Criticism of Property Taxes and the Municipal Common Fund
Another point of contention was the proposal to eliminate property taxes on primary residences for those over 65. Matthei described this measure as an “absolute contradiction” within the current economic context.
The former Labor Minister warned that reducing the local property tax burden would directly impact municipal coffers. She questioned the viability of the proposed compensation mechanisms for local governments.
“They shouldn't come here claiming they will pay the money back, because they won't,” the official warned, noting that the reduction would drain resources from the Municipal Common Fund.
Regarding the country's current state, the Mayor rejected more extreme views suggesting a terminal crisis. “Chile has problems (…) but to say the country is destroyed—no. We cannot compare ourselves to the 70s or 80s,” she declared.
Matthei also urged for a more moderate tone in political debate to prevent national paralysis. “When everything is extremized and polarized, the country fails to move forward,” she concluded.
However, the Mayor showed partial support for reducing the first-category tax from 27% to 23%. She explained that this reduction is an objective her political sector has been advocating for previously.
