National Tax Measures Adopted in Response to COVID-19 Crisis: Uruguay

Authors: Andrea Laura Riccardi Sacchi

ABSTRACT

This national report provides a general overview of the tax measures that have been adopted in Uruguay in response to the health and economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The state of national health emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak was declared on 13 March 2020, just a few days after a new president began his mandate. Different health, social and economic measures, including in the tax area, have been taken since then. The balance between the protec- tion of human health, the minimization of social and economic distortions and the respect for hu- man rights has guided the Uruguayan strategy. Measures adopted – praised for being timely – have accompanied the evolution of the pandemic. The spread of the virus has been under control from the beginning and the “engines” of the economy have been kept working, even if this meant, at their minimum level. Those sectors of the economy, where activities had been suspended, have gradually returned to a “new” normality, i.e. under specific health protocols. As a result, the effects of the crisis have been minimized as far as possible and the Uruguayan case has stood out in Latin America and worldwide.

Keywords: Uruguay, COVID-19, Pandemic, Economic crisis, Economic recovery, Tax measures

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