Edomex to receive tax breaks for water payment

Mexico's government will offer tax breaks to encourage Mexico state (Edomex) municipalities to pay off their water services debt, which totals more than 11bn pesos (US$982mn), according to the Edomex government website. The federal government issued a decree offering incentives to 25 municipalities in Edomex to encourage payment of 7.5bn pesos for water received from national water commission CNA. Edomex governor Arturo Montiel Rojas has petitioned congress for a "mirror" decree to benefit the remaining 101 municipalities in the state, whose debt comes to 4.3bn pesos. The idea is to increase the end-users' payment of water bills. Currently, 35% of the bills invoiced are collected. The payments that come into state coffers under this new system will be placed in a trust to pay for new water projects, increasing service and further controlling the approximate 40% of water that is lost in distribution.