*Argentina’s government led by President Javier Milei has sent a bill to congress that would provide a tax amnesty for Argentines who have not declared their savings to the treasury. The so-called Ley del Principio de Inocencia Fiscal (Fiscal innocence principle bill) is designed to prevent future taxation for Argentines who tap into dollar savings previously stored at home or in foreign bank accounts under a programme announced by the government last month, which provides tax reductions and an easing of filing requirements for those using dollar savings. In a statement, the government said the bill will protect Argentine savers from “future administrations so that they can freely make use of their savings without having to prove where they got them from all the time”. The bill consists of two schemes. One scheme modifies the thresholds at which the state can pursue citizens for tax evasion, significantly raising this from the current limit of Ar$1.5m (US$1,263). Although exact details have yet to be announced, Juan Pazo, the head of Argentina’s federal tax and customs agency, Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero (Arca), said this would mean that of the 7,000 tax evasion cases open today, only 200 would remain open as they imply a “real and significant evasion”. Citizens will also be given greater opportunity to normalise their tax situation if notified of an irregularity before being pursued criminally. The second scheme will “forever” shield Argentine citizens who adhere to the recently announced simplified income tax regime, under which people pay income tax only on their earnings, regardless of their net worth variation. This means Arca will calculate the amount of income tax payable only on the amount earned during a fiscal year, irrespective of how much an individual’s net worth or personal consumption has increased during that period. “With this bill we are guaranteeing that no future government will be able to prosecute them for their past patrimonial situation,” said Pazo.
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