Presentación de la política de exoneraciones de aportes a la seguridad social en Uruguay

In Uruguay, the payroll tax rates that take the form of mandatory contributions to the social security system paid by employers differ among industries. This is the result of different policies. Since the 1950s, the law has permitted exemptions based on three criteria: a) the “general interest”, which led to some firms enjoying discretional subsidies; b) to subsidize the employment of some specific groups; c) to smooth the consequences of adverse macroeconomic shocks on employment. In this document we present the norms about exemptions, we describe the characteristics of the subsidised jobs and we report the results of Uruguayan studies about the relation between payroll taxes and employment.