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Puerto Morelos settles longstanding debt with SATQ

Puerto Morelos, Q.R. — The government of Puerto Morelos has paid a debt after a settlement agreement with the state’s tax department. The outstanding debt of 14.8 million pesos that was inherited from pervious administrations has been paid to the Tax Administration System of the State of Quintana Roo (SATQ).

The outstanding municipal debt was paid in full in early August. Puerto Morelos Mayor Blanca Merari Tziu Muñoz said the debt was cleared thanks to the financial discipline implemented since the beginning of her government.

“The onerous debt with the Tax Administration System of the State of Quintana Roo (SATQ), inherited from previous local administrations, was paid off at the beginning of the month,” she said.

The debt included resources corresponding to the Payroll Tax that were withheld from municipal workers between 2016 and 2018, but which were not reported to the entity’s tax institution which generated a total debt, with accumulated surcharges and fines, of just over 36.5 million pesos, she explained.

In this regard, municipal trustee Alberto Arelle Sergent, said thanks to Blanca Merari’s efforts to reach an agreement with the SATQ, the forgiveness of almost 13 million pesos in surcharges and almost 9 million in fines was achieved, which left a total debt of 14.8 million pesos.

He explained that in accordance with the signed agreement, the Ministry of Finance and Planning (Sefiplan) of the Government of Quintana Roo authorized an initial payment of 2.9 million pesos, that is, 20 percent of the total amount, and 24 installments for 593,973 pesos, which were settled on August 2.

“Our mayor was very clear since she learned about this and other debts inherited from the irresponsible previous administrations to knock on the doors that were necessary, to reach agreements and thereby protect the finances of Puerto Morelos.

“If we had not done so, we would have run the risk of not being able to guarantee services or carry out projects to benefit the population since the accounts of the City Council could have been seized,” he said.

When the SATQ notification was received in November 2020, the debt was 28,776 ,364 pesos. On August 17, 2022, the date on which the agreement was signed, the sum already reached 36,587,234 pesos.

“If we had not acted in time, the amount of this debt would have increased disproportionately. That is why it is important to highlight that the management of our mayor Blanca Merari was decisive so that today we can tell the people of Puerto Morelos that we have fulfilled our duty to settle this debt which, although we did not generate it, we had the responsibility to assume as City Hall since it put us at risk financially speaking,” he explained.