The Fedecámaras (Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce ) board of directors in Venezuela was in the state of Falcón on October 3rd as part of the national tour they are carrying out to listen to the chambers of commerce of all municipalities, as well as to guide and remember the actions of the unions and trade unions in the country.
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The Second Vice President of Fedecámaras, Tiziana Polesel, offered a presentation on this topic and gave details of what the business community faces in the country after conducting surveys and receiving information from the different states.
She said that the main problems are the lack of access to credit for all business people, the inefficiency of public services, high taxes and business informality.
She explained that Venezuelan businessmen and merchants are severely limited as a result of the lack of consumer and investment credit, a situation that is repeated throughout the year. “You cannot talk about a recovery if there is no reopening, growth without having access to credit, not only for consumption, which is what we need every day, but for industry, construction and all sectors, because that is what really drives it (economic activity).”
High taxes
She also highlighted this political issue because it always ends up influencing economic development, since the rest of the world is seeing the political dynamics of the country. The trade union representative highlighted that there are other elements that are in the first places, such as the deficiency of public services that continues to be a pending task to be resolved, especially regarding the electrical system and fuel supply.
“The business community continues to insist that the issue of electric power and the regular supply of fuel must be improved, which are essential elements for the recovery that we so long for.”
She highlighted the issue of tax pressure as no less important, since there is a distortion of reality that is promoted by a narrative that also stigmatizes economic informality that evades fiscal responsibility and weakens the tax base.
“We have to start to eliminate the premise that taxes are not paid in Venezuela. In Venezuela, taxes are paid and very high ones, because there are very few of us who pay and the business movement in all sectors and regions has been asking to address the issue of informality and convert informal businesses into formal ones so that the tax base is larger and we can all pay less.”
She recalled that in Venezuela, 60% of business expenditures are due to taxes and it is one of the highest burdens, since in the rest of the countries they do not exceed 30%. “We are talking about tax burdens that must be reviewed. We must go towards tax rationality.”
Exchange rate differential
When asked about the difference between the exchange rate of the parallel dollar and the official dollar, she pointed out that this affects the national economy because some services and products are charged to companies at the “parallel” dollar (black market) and sold at the official dollar, which represents a difference of 20%.
“It is affecting not only the stability of companies, but it is creating discomfort in supplier-customer relationships. Companies need a certain stability to operate and when these gaps occur, instability grows, and when there is instability, this affects confidence, sales and profitability, and we effectively have to address this,” she concluded.
For his part, José Graceffa, President of Fedecámaras Falcón (chapter), thanked the presence of municipal and regional unions and trade unions at the annual meeting, where they also presented the management report.
He stressed that despite the known adversities, they hope that there will be an economic rebound in this last quarter of the year and recognized the efforts of the national leadership to stimulate the Venezuelan economy.