BRIEFS: Business

Bakers to ask for tax breaks on ingredients

La Prensa/ David Mesa

rising: The country’s bakeries are seeking tax breaks on ingredients to avoid having to raise prices.1076823

Members of the Asociación de Panaderos de Panamá plan to meet in the coming days to discuss issues related to the rising costs of commodities.

At that meeting, the group is expected to make a request to the government to exempt certain items from import tariffs to keep them from having to increase prices.

The bakers plan to request that taxes on items such as butter, margarine, lard, yeast and cinnamon be suspended for six months to a year.

Giácomo Tamburrelli, president of the association, said that the members will discuss the final details of their proposal, which will then be forwarded to the Executive branch. Discussions are also being held with the Ministerio de Comercio e Industrias.

“If the tariffs are reduced, in many cases we will be able to keep prices from rising,” he said.

Tamburrelli said that the costs of some raw materials have doubled, eating into profits.