In the presentation, they assure that since the ruling is not final, they should be able to charge the increase.
Argentina.- In the capital of the province of La Rioja, the controversy continues around the increase in rates charged to casinos, after in June this year, the City Council quadrupled the rates for large contributors, which led to the closure of one of the city's casinos.
In recent days, it was known that the municipality of the provincial capital appealed the ruling that prevents them from charging the increase. It is worth remembering that, after a request from the company Video Drome, the Supreme Court of Justice of La Rioja issued a precautionary measure ordering local authorities to refrain from initiating any type of procedure, claim, or process that seeks to make this tax increase effective until a final judgment is issued in the case.
However, in the presentation of the Municipality, it is argued that the ruling is not yet final, therefore they should be able to continue charging the increase. The municipal prosecutor, Federico Trueba, said: "We went from ridiculous amounts to reasonable amounts."
Trueba told the local media Rioja Virtual: "We have already exercised the appeal, we filed a motion for reconsideration. In a constitutionality trial, Videodrome requested a precautionary measure and that the municipality refrain from charging this rate. Today the presentation was made before the Supreme Court of Justice."
Trueba added that in the municipality of the Capital they were surprised by this ruling from the TSJ: "The casino played in two parts simultaneously, it is irregular that they have acted in two competitions," he said.
And he added: "The TSJ was not aware of the presentation of the Federal Justice and we warned them of this in the motion for reconsideration. The trial on the merits of this rate and this contribution has not yet been resolved."
At this point, the municipal prosecutor stated that the commune is authorized to charge the rate with the increase. "Regarding today's resolution, the ruling is not final, so today we can charge the rate," he assured.
Also, Trueba said that the amount the casinos were paying in terms of rates were "ridiculous and insignificant" which justified the increase applied by the municipality. "The municipality noted that there were false data. They challenge and take what they were paying from ridiculous amounts to reasonable amounts, from insignificant sums to something reasonable. They were paying AR$7,800 per machine and now it goes to AR$67,000 per machine," he told the Riojan newspaper.
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In an interview with the radio program "Here & Now," Ramón Vera, head of the Administration of Gambling of La Rioja (AJALaR) explained the current situation since the judicial ruling: "The company notified us of the resolution of the ruling by the justice which grants the precautionary measure requested by them against the municipality of the capital and in which it orders to refrain from charging the gaming and public expenditure tax that was intended to be charged in the famous rate increase that led to the closure of the room."
Regarding the closure of the Video Drome premises, Vera added: "Yesterday they notified us of this ruling, the first thing they requested is the reopening of this room, mainly so that the suspended employees who are not receiving their wages as appropriate can return. In this sense, I primarily asked the company to rehire the employees as they were at the time. That for us is fundamental, especially the regulation of all the gaming rooms in the province."
Vera had already criticized the increase: "Pathological gambling is not combated by increasing rates, it would be good to seek advice and work together with the only gaming regulator, AJALAR, tackling the illegal," Vera wrote on his X account.
The official added that one should not confuse "commercial licensing with regulating games" and that "it should not be just about collecting, services must be provided".
