Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/235530
Wednesday, January 1, 2014 – Daily News 3B Mexican sales tax hike seen as boon on US border CHULA VISTA (AP) — Mexican license plates are common in parking lots of shopping malls in U.S. border cities. They will be even more familiar after Mexico raises its federal sales tax in border regions to match the rest of the country, say merchants and shoppers. The increase to 16 per- cent from 11 percent, which takes effect Wednesday, has sparked large protests on the Mexican side of the border. Facebook pages with secessionist tones have generated about 200,000 ''likes.'' Thousands have signed petitions to challenge the tax hike in court. The Mexican govern- Established 1978 ment says the two-tiered tax structure, which was introduced decades ago to make border cities competitive, is no longer justified. Others say the increase may backfire by driving more shoppers north of the border, harming the economy and raising less tax revenue than anticipated. ''We don't compete against the rest of Mexico, we compete against the American economy,'' said Juan Manuel Hernandez, president of the Tijuana Business Coordinating Council, an umbrella group of business chambers. U.S. border regions like California's Imperial Valley Established 1978 — which has three WalMart Supercenters and only 175,000 residents — have long depended on Mexican shoppers who buy everything from gasoline to groceries. Brand-name clothing and electronics are perennial draws for Mexicans seeking products that are more expensive or hard to find Established 1989 Reynolds CELEBRATING 36 YEARS Ranch & Farm Supply 527-1622 Serving Tehama County for over 30 years MOULE'S TEHAMA COUNTY GLASS 515 Sycamore St., Red Bluff 529-0260 south of the border. Mexican shoppers spend more than $4.5 billion a year in Texas border cities, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. Fed economists estimated in March that Mexican border crossers account for 58 percent of retail sales in Laredo and 42 percent in McAllen. AIR CONDITIONING & HEATING Red Bluff 527-7188 Redding 222-2545 The Bickley Boys, Your Partners in Comfort Cal. Lic.#754681 Authorized YORK Dealers The Loft 529-5638 529-3877 501 Madison St, Red Bluff