Overtime, per diem, cash failures and productivity bonus are related issues that generate a lot of controversy in the workplace. Although these concepts are regulated by laws and regulations, its application in practice often provokes doubts and complaints from workers that are affected by the Income Tax.
The latter occurs mainly since the extraordinary work is reached by the tax, causing an opposite effect in the pocket of the worker. In the same sense, it occurs with the recognition of food or food expenses, or eventually, with bonuses or cash failures that try to recompose differentiated or extraordinary labor situations. However, through an innovative Opinion of the National Tax Directorate they could benefit.
Bonus for productivity and cash failure
The sums that are paid as a productivity bonus or the denomination that it had, that are determined based on objective guidelines and that are not linked to the mere provision of the workforce and the amounts due to cash failure are calculated considering the parameters mentioned by the legislation, it is interpreted that the exemption of the second paragraph of subparagraph x) of article 26 is applicable of the law.
In that sense, the question fell on whether the exemption is applicable only to the payment of a “productivity bonus / cash failure” per yearor if there are different salary concepts, but with the same nature, the exemption could be applied individually for each one.
The ruling says: “The productivity bonus(es) is/are treated independently in terms of the limit concerning the “cash failure(s)” or those “of a similar nature” to these; the exemption on the productivity bonus falls on each of the bonuses that the employer pays as long as the guidelines that determine their amount are different and as long as they meet the previously outlined conditions…”
Mobility, per diem and other similar compensation
The Law indicates that profit is considered “…compensations in money and in kind and travel expenses that are paid as an advance or reimbursement of expenses, for service commissions carried out outside the headquarters where the tasks are provided that are received for the exercise of the activities included therein.”
At this point, when the Law refers to the fact that “…other similar compensations…” must be given the same treatment that corresponds to mobility expenses and travel expenses, the truth is that the amount that integrate those concepts, to be deductible, must keep the same purposebeyond the denomination that it could have.
Said in other words, the deduction must be taken individually, falling on each of the salary items that fit within the concepts analyzed and that the employer pays (Travel expenses, mobility expenses and any similar compensation that could include the same purpose, provided that the conditions are met).
Extra hours
It all starts with a salary agreement between Toyota and SMATA. The automotive terminal decides to increase production and summons its workers to work in an extended day scheme during the weekends. under it they make a salary agreement where these overtime hours will be calculated and paid under the voice of a concept called “Additional for weekend work”.
Taking into account the 100% exemption from earnings that overtime has (L. 20.628, art. 26 inc. x)), it is asked whether it can be extended to the benefit of Toyota.
Given that they are originally overtime but paid under another concept, the National Tax Directorate indicates that the benefit achieved by the Law “involves the differential between the value of ordinary hours and the amount of overtime hours or the denomination that the latter had considering the particularity of each CCTsince due to the specificity that concerns the different tasks, the additional to be received outside the normal working day can acquire a different denomination without this being an obstacle for both this and overtime to be covered by the franchise, in the understanding that it is an additional that is of a similar nature to that of the aforementioned overtime.”
The latter could be beneficial for more than one activity that in their CCT they agree to the payment of additional ones for rotating shifts when they have been under the non-calendar week system.
By Cr. Gonzalo Gutiérrez (CHINNI, SELEME, BUGNER AND ASOC.).
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