The government presented on Wednesday before the Legislative Assembly two bills to exempt Christmas bonuses from paying taxes and to allow the introduction into the country of new goods by Salvadorans abroad.

The Minister of Finance, Alejandro Zelaya, addressed the issue and stated that this is yet another support for Salvadoran families who will be able to receive full bonuses of $1,500 or less.

The official explained in a television interview that the benefit will reach 565,000 taxpayers who must receive a Christmas bonus within the range approved for the exemption.

“We are benefiting more than half a million people in our country, and the total fiscal sacrifice that we would be having would be around $5 million, so it is not a significant figure if we compare it with the General Budget of the Nation (PGN), which exceeds $8,000 million,” he said.

“This proposal will greatly benefit the family economy, especially in this season where you want to have a detail with your loved ones or brighten up these New Year’s days with your family,” added the headline.

In this sense, he explained that, after carrying out the respective fiscal analysis of the withholdings of the income tax (ISR) in the Ministry of Finance, “it was determined that the fiscal sacrifice is quite minor compared to the relief that can be provided to the people this Christmas time.”

Zelaya added that this proposal is also based on the good collection that has been maintained throughout the year.

“Thank God, throughout the year, we had tax revenues from the Anti-Evasion Plan and other strategies, and we still have surpluses of those revenues,” he said.

According to the current Labor Code, Article 196 establishes that “every employer is obliged to give their workers, as a bonus, a bonus for each year worked.”

This benefit must be paid between December 12 and 20 of each year, and the law establishes payment parameters that vary depending on the number of years that the person has been working, regardless of whether they belong to the public or private sector.

So, when people have been working for more than one year but less than three years, they will be paid the equivalent of 15 days of the salary they are currently earning.

In the case of those workers who accumulate more than three years of work but less than 10, their bonus percentage will be what corresponds to 19 days of salary, and only those who report 10 or more years of seniority in their employment will receive the equivalent of 21 days of salary.