Government aims to eliminate ISD by sector and the first chosen is the air

Airlines Guild indicates which measure will attract companies and stimulate more flights

The elimination of the foreign exchange tax (ISD) will not be immediate for all sectors. The government yesterday outlined the idea of ​​what would be the path for the gradual disassembly of that tax through a elimination based on sectors of the economy.

During a tour in the Postorja deep port, President Guillermo Lasso explained that before a consultation made to the Attorney General's Office, the agency has replied that it is possible to take the alternative to reduce the ISD.

The first bouquet selected to eliminate the ISD is the air, with the idea of ​​promoting tourism, beaten strongly in the middle of the pandemic. And this measure will apply to all the transactionality of aerial tickets, said Lasso.

Although the president did not delve into details, in the air sector they assimilate that the elimination of the ISD will favor the resources sent by air companies from Ecuador to their matrices from abroad and that serve to cover costs demanded by the operation. In those costs are the payment of leasing (rent) of airplanes, maintenance, insurance and other items.

With less tax burden, travelers could also favor themselves with less expensive passages. "Ecuador is a very expensive country to operate, then, the measures taken by the government will contribute to cost reduction and at the time there is greater competition, with more airlines, that will surely have an impact on the tickets," he said.

According to estimates of this association, the airlines pay annually about $ 14 million for the concept of the ISD. A percentage that although it is significant for this sector, in the global collection is small compared to the fiscal impact that would represent the entire ISD.

"The entire ISD cannot be removed because it represents more than one billion dollars in fiscal sacrifice, but we can in some aeronautical sectors, aviation to lower it immediately to allow an open skies policy," said Production Minister Julio José Prado.

This gradual reduction of the ISD is only one of the tax proposals that Lasso has sketched, who has raised the elimination of 2 % of income tax to microenterprises; The decline in Value Added Tax (VAT) for four holidays in the year to support the tourism sector, and greater control to combat evasion.

Days ago, Peter Cerdá, Regional Vice President of IATA, a global entity that groups the airlines, raised the ISD's elimination to the Lasso Government, and the ecodelta rate paid by the tickets to push the reactivation.

"The elimination (from the ISD) will positively reduce much of the costs and what we have calculated would generate 31,350 new jobs and about $ 440 million contribution to GDP," said Cerdá.

Prado mentioned yesterday that several international companies were waiting for this announcement and added that the Ministries of Tourism, Finance and Production worked to the extent.

For Holbach Muñeton, president of the National Federation of Tourism Chambers, the gradual elimination of ISD is an important step for reactivation and to motivate investors.

"What you have to see now is the indebtedness that companies have, work on competitiveness, the promotion of the country, long -term credits and boost a tourist cluster," said Muñeton.

President Lasso indicated that the elimination of ISD in the air sector will also help specify the open skies agreements that are intended with other countries. When launching the measure, he mentioned, which is to "facilitate open skies."

Open skies policies allow to generate propitious conditions for foreign airlines not to have limitations if they decide to operate in Ecuador.

He went up explained that when the ISD retires the way for open skies, as other countries like the United States do not have this type of tribute and demand reciprocal treatment.