Guatemala Congress Advances Port Law, Fuel Subsidy and IUSI Tax Reform

Guatemala Port Law fuel subsidy IUSI tax reform Congress

The Guatemalan Congress is preparing an extraordinary session to continue the interpellation of Minister of Social Development Abelardo Pinto and to address several pending bills. Lawmakers aim to move forward with the National Port System Law, reforms to the IUSI (Single Property Tax), and a temporary fuel subsidy package.

The proposed subsidy would provide GTQ 12 per gallon for diesel and GTQ 3 per gallon for regular gasoline, with an estimated fiscal impact of around GTQ 5.4 billion in 2026—exceeding the budget allocations of ten of the fourteen ministries. The measure is intended to ease costs for cargo and passenger transport sectors amid rising political pressure on President Bernardo Arévalo's administration.

Parallel discussions on the IUSI tax focus on either reducing the rate to three per mil for residential properties or eliminating the tax entirely, with accompanying proposals to compensate municipalities through other fiscal mechanisms.

Entities: Abelardo Pinto · Bernardo Arévalo · College of Attorneys and Notaries of Guatemala (CANG) · Congress of Guatemala · Guatemalan Congress · IUSI tax · National Port System Law

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[○ 1 SOURCE] The estimated fiscal impact of the fuel subsidy is GTQ 5.4 billion for 2026. (ecd13afc-64fe-4dcd-856e-f3a88a814355)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Reform of the IUSI tax is being debated, with proposals to reduce or eliminate it. (10f566c1-f3ee-4e02-a489-f442daa7bd28)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The Guatemalan Congress will hold an extraordinary session to continue the interpellation of Minister Abelardo Pinto. (ecd13afc-64fe-4dcd-856e-f3a88a814355)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Compensation mechanisms for municipalities are being discussed to offset loss of IUSI revenue. (10f566c1-f3ee-4e02-a489-f442daa7bd28)
[○ 1 SOURCE] A fuel subsidy of GTQ 12 per diesel gallon and GTQ 3 per gasoline gallon is being proposed. (ecd13afc-64fe-4dcd-856e-f3a88a814355)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The National Port System Law is pending discussion in the Congress. (ecd13afc-64fe-4dcd-856e-f3a88a814355)
[○ 1 SOURCE] Some proposals suggest reducing the IUSI rate to three per mil for residential properties. (10f566c1-f3ee-4e02-a489-f442daa7bd28)
[○ 1 SOURCE] The subsidy would exceed the budget allocations of ten of the fourteen ministries. (ecd13afc-64fe-4dcd-856e-f3a88a814355)