"The Argentine tax system is almost feudal," said Matías Díaz Telli on Aconcagua Radio.

In an interview with Aconcagua Radio, businessman Matías Díaz Telli, president of the Commercial and Industrial Union of Mendoza ( UCIM ), analyzed the main factors that increase the price of Argentine products and weaken the competitiveness of the national economy. Distorting taxes, deteriorating roads, excessive bureaucracy, and lack of financing were some of the factors highlighted as part of the so-called "Argentine cost."

“The Argentine tax system is almost feudal. It makes no sense, it's confiscatory, and it profoundly damages the value chain,” Díaz Telli stated, while calling for the elimination of taxes such as the Gross Income Tax, the check tax, and withholdings. “These taxes increase the cost of the entire production chain and directly affect consumers,” he stated.

The business leader explained that when an Argentine buys a liter of milk for $100, between $25 and $30 correspond to taxes. "If you lower direct taxes on the product, you lower costs. It's not linear, but it does have a significant impact," he explained.

He also criticized the impact of these taxes on international competition. “An Argentine wine on a shelf in Mexico has to compete with a Chilean wine. But Argentine wine arrives with a tax burden that Chilean wine doesn't have,” he explained. He added that the deteriorating infrastructure is compounded: “Crossing the Andes in a truck is a nightmare. You have a road designed for another century, with no maintenance, riddled with potholes. All of this makes the product more expensive.”

Another key obstacle, according to Díaz Telli, is bureaucracy. “For a truck of wine to reach the port, coordination between the Ministry of the Interior, Customs, Highways, the municipality, and the province is required. It's chaotic, and that's also an Argentine cost,” he denounced.

Asked about the current government's progress on tax matters, the president of UCIM acknowledged some gestures but called for greater speed: "The playing field is still tilted to the detriment of producers. The transition is slow, and that prevents us from competing on a level playing field."

He also pointed out that the solution doesn't depend solely on the national government. "The Argentine cost is not Javier Milei's sole responsibility. The provinces also have to act. They must eliminate Gross Income and destroy the CIRCREV system, which is absurd," he asserted.

"We know that tax reform is being worked on. Well, the first governor to implement it in his province will turn that territory into a magnet for investment," he added.

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