Argentina’s Inocencia Fiscal II Cuts Tax Fines 25% as Experts Doubt Dollars
ARGENTINA · TAX
Key Facts
- —The law Argentina’s Senate passed Inocencia Fiscal II by 44 votes to 23 on 17 September 2026, completing its passage through Congress (Senate).
- —Not yet in force As of 1 October 2026, the law had not appeared in the Boletín Oficial, Argentina’s official gazette.
- —The fine cut Some fines for formal tax breaches fall 25% for individuals and small and mid-sized firms, excluding large taxpayers (El Economista, 30 September).
- —The doubt Tax advisers quoted by El Economista on 30 September back the simplified return but doubt that hidden dollars will reach banks.
- —Next step The anti-money-laundering unit must issue a rule within 15 working days of the law’s publication (article 7 of the law).
Inocencia Fiscal II eases some penalties and shields users of a simpler tax return, but advisers expect hidden savings to stay hidden.
Argentina’s Inocencia Fiscal II law will cut a group of tax fines by 25% for individuals and smaller firms. Tax advisers told the business daily El Economista on 30 September that they doubt it will bring undeclared dollars into banks.
A law passed but not yet published
Inocencia Fiscal II, or Fiscal Innocence II, is a reform by President Javier Milei’s government. It limits what the tax agency may presume about the money people declare.
The agency is ARCA, the Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero, which collects taxes and customs duties. The Senate passed the bill by 44 votes to 23 on 17 September 2026.
The vote completed its path through Congress after the Chamber of Deputies approved it in August. The Rio Times covered that vote in Argentina’s Congress clears a law to coax mattress dollars into banks.
As of 1 October, the law had not appeared in the Boletín Oficial, the official gazette. It changes nothing in practice until the president promulgates it and the gazette publishes it.
A 25% cut in some tax fines
The law cuts by 25% the fines set in articles 38 and 39 of the Tax Procedures Law and two related articles. These punish formal breaches, such as filing a tax return late.
The cut applies automatically to individuals, estates still being settled, non-profit groups and micro, small and medium-sized firms. Individuals, estates and non-profits that ARCA classes as large taxpayers do not qualify.
The relief follows a steep rise. The first fiscal innocence law, Law 27.799, raised these fines more than 1,000-fold, El Economista noted.
Accountant Miriam Roldán, head of the firm MYB, has drafted a deeper cut. Senator Carolina Losada of the Unión Cívica Radical (UCR), one of Argentina’s oldest parties, filed it in Congress.
A bigger proposal still waiting
Roldán’s text would cut the same fines by 80% for micro firms and individuals. Small firms would get 60%, and the two tiers of medium firms 40% and 20%.
It would also give taxpayers 30 to 90 days to fix a breach after a formal notice. A petition backing it on the Change.org website has passed 5,800 signatures.
Congress has not debated it. Humberto Bertazza, a partner at the firm Bertazza, Nicolini, Corti & Asociados, added a separate reminder for companies.
Tax, customs and central bank fines cannot be deducted from income tax, he said. Several court rulings have backed ARCA’s strict view.
Why advisers like the simpler return
The law also strengthens a simplified income-tax return created by the first law. Filers no longer have to justify every change in their wealth or their spending during the year.
Its main draw is a tax shield, known locally as the tapón fiscal. If conditions are met, earlier years of income tax and value-added tax are protected from new audits.
Jorge Gebhardt of the firm Aguirre Saravia & Gebhardt said that, in theory, he would advise every eligible taxpayer to join. Gustavo Carreño of Carreño, Scalone & Asociados said he found no reason not to, since it only has benefits.
Diego Fraga, who teaches tax law at Universidad Austral, said even fully declared taxpayers gain from the shield. Some filers can use the simpler return without getting that protection, he warned.
Why the mattress dollars may stay put
The doubts start with the dollars kept outside banks, which Argentines call the canuto. Gebhardt said he was between sceptical and negative about the government reaching that money.
He pointed to the 2027 elections and to savers who keep money ready to leave. Bank compliance officers are often stricter than ARCA itself, he added.
Carreño noted that the anti-money-laundering rules have not changed. Banks must still answer to the UIF, the Unidad de Información Financiera, Argentina’s financial intelligence unit.
Fraga urged care for anyone already under an ARCA inspection. “It would not be serious to promise that joining ends any inspection”, he said.
The gap the UIF must close
Article 7 of the law tells the UIF to treat proof of joining the simple regime as a favourable sign. The UIF must explain that within 15 working days of publication.
Lawyer Federico Schweizer of Teresa Gómez, Carlos Quian & Asociados said the law does not say how much that sign weighs. “For now, ‘favourable’ is an adjective in search of an author”, he told El Economista.
Mariano Ezeyza of Criminal, Compliance & Taxes Consulting expects few changes to the anti-laundering duties. A prosecutor or federal judge could still open a criminal case if asset data reached them, he warned.
“It would have been advisable for this law to establish an amnesty”, Ezeyza said.
What it means for savers
Argentines have saved in US dollars for generations to protect themselves from inflation and devaluation. Officials estimate that more than US$170 billion sits outside the financial system, the Senate said. It expects the law to bring part of that money into the economy.
For people who already file income tax, the advisers see little downside in joining. For undeclared savings, they advise checking the money’s origin and the bank’s controls first.
Fraga suggested a split decision: join the regime if eligible, but wait before moving some assets. ARCA has yet to issue its rules for the new law, and so has the UIF. Those rules will show how far the shield reaches.
More: Argentina news, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Inocencia Fiscal II already in force?
Not yet. Congress finished approving it on 17 September 2026. As of 1 October it had not appeared in the Boletín Oficial, the official gazette, which it needs to take effect.
Which tax fines does the law cut?
It cuts by 25% the fines for formal breaches, such as late returns, in two articles of the Tax Procedures Law. The cut applies to individuals, estates, non-profits and small and mid-sized firms that are not large taxpayers.
Will the law bring undeclared dollars into banks?
The government hopes so, but advisers quoted by El Economista are doubtful. They cite unchanged anti-laundering rules, strict bank compliance officers and uncertainty before the 2027 elections.
Sources: El Economista · El Economista · El Economista · Senado de la Nación Argentina · Boletín Oficial de la República Argentina
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error
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