Uruguay's top court throws out tax on big land holdings

Uruguay's top court throws out tax on big land holdings

MONTEVIDEO | Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:38am EST

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Uruguay's Supreme Court has thrown out a controversial tax on large land holdings in the South American beef and soy producer, saying on Saturday the levy introduced in 2011 was unconstitutional.

Justices thought the new tax overlapped with existing ones collected by local governments, said Raul Oxandabarat, a spokesman for the court.

Leftist President Jose Mujica, a former guerrilla fighter who has broadly maintained the moderate economic policies of his predecessor, said before the ruling that he would accept the court's decision - but mentioned that if the tax were struck down it might be worth trying to reform the constitution.

"Legally we will abide by the ruling, but we think the tax is profoundly defensible from an ethical standpoint," he said on his weekly radio show on Thursday.

More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/16/uruguay-landtax-idUSL1N0BG1BF20130216?rpc=401