MEXICO CITY — An association representing thousands of maquiladora plants in Mexico says the federal finance ministry has acknowledged the economic benefits for the country of the sector, despite wanting to increase its tax burden.
“We concur with each other regarding the economic and fiscal advantages for the country of the maquilador export model,” the National Council of the Maquiladora & Export Manufacturing Industry (known as Index) said in a Dec. 11 news release.
However, Index said its members and some journalists should not get carried away by the government's willingness to discuss possible amendments to the so-called Reforma Hacendaria.
Mexico's two houses of Congress approved the far-reaching law in October. The legislation removed generous tax exemptions that have benefited the maquiladora industry since its inception in 1965, prompting gloom and doom merchants to predict the demise of an industry that employs more than 2 million at 5,000 companies.
The industry is hoping President Enrique Peña Nieto will decree amendments to the law and remove, for example, an obligation to pay value added tax on parts and components imported temporarily.
