Finance Minister Jorge Quiroz outlined this Thursday the scope of the "National Reconstruction, Economic Development and Social Progress" bill following the announcement made by President José Antonio Kast. The minister explained that the initiative responds to the fact that "our country faces structural stagnation that demands a comprehensive response to change our trajectory," after recording average growth of just 2% over the past 12 years.

The Finance Minister emphasized that the bill's core framework is to "recover economic growth and investment, create formal and quality employment, generate higher wages, and protect social security." In that context, he explained that the plan is structured around the following lines of action:

Reconstruction and temporary revenue measures

The bill allocates CLP 400 billion (equivalent to approximately US$ 450 million) for reconstruction of areas affected by wildfires in the Ñuble, Biobío, and Valparaíso regions. Financing will come from voluntary measures, including a reduction in gift tax, an extraordinary declaration of foreign assets, and a capital repatriation mechanism.

On this point, the minister clarified that "these are not taxes—they are all voluntary measures that taxpayers may or may not choose to participate in."

Boosting construction, housing, and social support

To mobilize the stock of over 100,000 unsold units, the Government proposes eliminating VAT on new housing sales for 12 months. This measure and others aligned with it will enable rapid reactivation of the construction sector, Minister Quiroz noted. In this way, the Government seeks to recover the approximately 200,000 jobs that have been lost in the sector.

On the social front, he highlighted the exemption of property contributions on primary residences for 300,000 seniors, a measure that will be directly compensated by the State to municipalities to protect their revenues.

Competitiveness and employment protection

The plan includes a gradual reduction of corporate income tax for companies under the 14A regime, declining from 27% to 23% by the end of the decade. This reduction will be applied progressively to ensure fiscal stability. Additionally, a payroll tax credit will be created to benefit over 230,000 SMEs.

"Eighty-five percent of beneficiary enterprises are small and medium-sized businesses," Quiroz emphasized, adding that in practice, the effective tax rate for SMEs will drop from 12.5% to 7.8%.

Regulatory certainty and streamlining

To promote investment, tax stability will be guaranteed for 25 years on projects exceeding US$ 50 million. Additionally, a change in environmental management is proposed: if an investment with a positive Environmental Impact Assessment Resolution is subject to legal challenge and the outcome is adverse, "it will be the State's responsibility to restore or reimburse the invested amount" to prevent project stoppages.

Regulatory streamlining measures for aquaculture in the Los Lagos, Aysén, and Magallanes regions were also included.

Spending containment and efficiency

Finally, Minister Quiroz detailed austerity measures including elimination of the SENCE program and a four-year moratorium on the admission of new higher education institutions to the free tuition system. On this last point, he emphasized that spending on free tuition has doubled from its original projection, reaching CLP 2.2 billion.