On February 24, 2017, the Venezuelan Tax Administration
published Ruling N° SNAT/2017/0003 in the Official Gazette
(hereinafter "the Ruling"), increasing the value of the
Tax Unit (hereinafter "UT") from 177.00 Venezuelan
bolivars (VEF 177.00) to VEF 300.00. A "tax unit" is an
amount that links benefit increases and fines to tax rates, instead
of fixing them in local currencies and subjecting them to inflation
indexes. The increase became effective on February 24, 2017. The
following describes some of the consequences of this increase for
the labor market.
Increase of the "Meal Benefit"
In accordance with the Meal Benefit for Workers Law, employers
must grant employees a payment for the "meal benefit,"
which is equivalent to 12 UT per day times 30 days per month, or
360 UT per month. The Ruling increases the amount of the meal
benefit to a daily amount of VEF 3,600.00, or a monthly total of
VEF 108,000.00.
