Yucatán’s Congress on Thursday approved a new fiscal budget for the coming year of over 42.5 million pesos.
The amount will be collected through a series of new taxes, as well as a license plate update that began in 2019 but was put on hold due to the pandemic.
The news comes after a recent INEGI poll that shows that people in Yucatán are more highly concerned about government corruption — taking on the burden of new taxes and fees even harder.
The new budget passed in a session lasting only five hours thanks to a clear PAN majority — even though the fiscal package was opposed by the opposition made up of Morena, the PRI, and PRD.
“For the state government to continue to operate we need resources. We are now getting less money than ever from the federal government, so the shortfall has to be made up somehow,” said Jesús Efrén Pérez Ballote, a Panista lawmaker.
The new taxes will hit business owners the hardest, but also include new taxes that are sure to be unpopular among the public at large, as is the case of a new tariff on tricitaxi rickshaws.
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Also included in the budget are new taxes targeting a variety of different sectors from driving schools to notaries offices.
The state government argues that it has done everything in its power to keep taxation as low as possible — a claim which has raised more than a few eyebrows among Yucatecos.
Though large projects such as the new international airport being planned for Mérida, as well as a new stadium and entertainment venue, will supposedly be built using private funds, taxpayers in Yucatán are still concerned that they will be on the hook for associated expenses.
“All these projects look great on paper, but in the end, we Yucatecos end up paying for roads, overpasses, and all sorts of other things that benefit business owned by politicians and their friends,” said Mérida resident Merced Ramírez on Facebook.
The fees will also in part go toward paying Yucatán’s debt which currently stands at approximately 1.5 billion pesos.
