Uruguayans will be scrutinising their pay packets this month after the government introduced its first income tax in almost four decades from July 1, as the centrepiece of a package to reform the country’s unwieldy tax system.

Lawyers, accountants and other university-educated professionals working for themselves will be among the hardest hit, as they had previously not been liable for any tax, unlike workers on company or state payrolls, who had paid a charge that is now replaced by the new income tax.