Argentina formalizes a new tax for the consumption of dollars abroad

The Government of Argentina made official a new tax for consumption abroad that exceeds US$300 and for the acquisition of luxury goods, while agreeing on a differential price for cultural activities carried out in the country, such as recitals.

“For operations (…) whose monthly amount -considered by subject- is equal to or greater than the sum of 300 dollars (…) a perception of 45% and another of 25% will be practiced,” says resolution 5272 published this Thursday in the Official Gazette.

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The Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP) issued this rule within the framework of the Public Emergency Law regulated in December 2019, which established the so-called “Tax for an Inclusive and Solidary Argentina (PAÍS)”.

In parallel, through decree 682 published in the Official Gazette, the Executive recognized a differential dollar for services contracted abroad for recreation and artistic activities, such as recitals or sports activities.

In these cases, only the PAÍS tax of 30% is established, which, added to the official exchange rate, leads to the dollar being paid around 200 pesos.

CONSUMPTION ABROAD

In order to preserve the reserves of the Central Bank, the Executive decreed an additional collection on account of the personal property tax of 25% on the official dollar.

This tax is added to the others already in force: the PAÍS tax and the 45% withholdings charged by the AFIP, also on account of personal assets and profits.

With an official dollar at 150 Argentine pesos, the new value for card consumption that exceeds US$300 or for the purchase of luxury goods goes to 300 pesos. Consumptions that do not exceed US$300 per month maintain the taxes in force until now, so each dollar would be equivalent to 262 pesos.

According to the Government, only 7% of consumers are affected, the equivalent of 199,778 people, because in August, for example, they spent a total of US$262.6 million with cards.

The remaining 93%, some 2.8 million people, disbursed US$60 million. These operations do not include application and online viewing services, nor land tickets to neighboring countries.

Currently, Argentina has 14 types of dollar, depending on who sells or buys the U.S. currency.

With information from Sputnik