Mexico City, Mexico — “The Supreme Court’s decision regarding Grupo Salinas is justice,” said President Sheinbaum. She made the comment Friday regarding the recent decision of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN).
Mexico’s highest court ruled concerning companies of the Salinas Group that, for nearly 15 years, has challenged tax credits. The company, Grupo Salinas, currently owes the government of Mexico more than 48 billion pesos in unpaid taxes.
“It is a resolution that has to do with our justice system, it is not a resolution based on orders,” Sheinbaum said Friday. She emphasized that in all cases, the complaining party first went to the administrative authority through litigation, which has lasted nearly 15 years.
In four cases, the SCJN determined that the appeals could only be admitted if they concerned constitutional relevance. In three others, it considered that the review should not have been admitted for processing, so the court decided to dismiss them and maintain the position of the Tax Administration Service (SAT) by upholding the judgments.
President Sheinbaum announced that the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) will move ahead with the procedures that correspond as a consequence of this decision.
“First, the company is notified. If they pay, the matter is resolved. If they don’t pay, a series of procedures must follow which are part of a legal process that must be completed.
“If they decide not to pay, then a long procedure will follow. It won’t happen in a day or two, but it’s justice. It’s that simple.”
She mentioned that the people of Mexico made a profound decision by determining the change of the Judicial Branch through popular vote, so now it must be consolidated.
“The rule of law, that the laws are upheld and that justice is not dispensed for some and not for others. That there are no privileges, that there is no favoritism toward those who are friends with the minister.
“It has to do with compliance with the law and with an impartial judiciary, that those who have never had access to justice now have it. That is what the reform of the judiciary was about,” she said.
Salinas Pliego, the owner of Grupo Salinas, has been ordered to pay more than 48 billion pesos to SAT (Mexican Tax Administration Service). The businessman accused the ministers of being influenced by the government saying that he would not back down.
Some of the companies owned by Grupo Salinas include Electra, Banco Azteca, TV Azteca and TotalPlay.
Grupo Salinas had seven lawsuits resolved Thursday by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) ordering him to pay the Tax Administration Service approximately 48,326.8 million pesos in taxes that date back more than a decade.
