Mexico's Congress approves tax overhaul changes

Mexico's lower house of Congress gave general approval on Thursday to a revised government tax plan that aims to boost receipts by nearly 3 percent of the gross domestic product by 2018.

Presented last month, President Enrique Peña Nieto's plan to strengthen Mexico's weak tax receipts ran into opposition from business groups and conservatives in Congress, prompting lawmakers in the lower house to propose stripping divisive items from the bill.

The bill was revised on Wednesday to raise the top income tax rate on a sliding scale to 35 percent from 30 percent, impose a 5 percent tax on junk food and roll back plans to apply sales tax torents, mortgages, property sales and school fees.

Source: Reuters