Slow recovery: SME sales grew in April, but business leaders are demanding urgent tax cuts.

SME sales grew 3.7% year-over-year in April. While this figure is positive, the sector warned that conditions remain very difficult due to the high burden of taxes , services, and rent. In this context, 86.7% of SME entrepreneurs called on the national government to urgently reduce the tax burden to sustain activity.

Despite the year-over-year increase, sales fell 1.8% in the seasonally adjusted monthly comparison, reflecting a slowdown in consumption. "Retailers are selling only essential items," indicated the report from the Argentine Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises ( CAME ), which also highlights that purchasing power remains low and many stores are barely able to cover their fixed costs. Even so, the cumulative total for the first four months shows a 14.9% increase, with items such as Food and Beverages (up 19.8%) and Perfumes (up 9.1%) leading the recovery.

The CAME warned that growth is "unsustainable" without concrete measures. In addition to tax relief, merchants called on the government to implement policies to stimulate domestic demand. "Without incentives for consumption and with this tax burden, many SMEs will not be able to sustain themselves over time," they stated.

The April situation was particularly adverse: most retailers operated with minimal margins, impacted by high operating costs. According to CAME, retailers made defensive decisions, such as reducing operating expenses and diversifying their product offerings, to survive in a stagnant market.

Despite the difficulties, 56.7% of respondents maintain an optimistic outlook about their company's future. The sectors with the highest expectations are Textiles and Apparel (63.2%) and Pharmacy (58.2%), where the majority of retailers expect an improvement in the next twelve months.

The report also highlighted the positive impact of domestic tourism during the April long weekend, with more than one million tourists and a total estimated spending of $256 billion. However, SME entrepreneurs agree that this type of recovery is temporary and insufficient to reverse a complex structural situation.

In short, although sales figures show signs of improvement, the message from SMEs is clear: "We need a tax cut now." For most business owners, this is the essential condition to consolidate the recovery and sustain employment in one of the country's largest employers.