Cristina Fernandez unleashes tax agency against opponents, claims The Economist
Under the heading of “Knock, knock, the government unleashes the tax agency against its opponents” The Economist latest edition claims that President Cristina Fernandez is using the tax revenue office to hound its political enemies.
The piece mentions several recent episodes of such a policy, not only against big targets as the Clarin media group but also with the country’s outstanding tennis player and winner of the US Open, Martin del Potro.
The tennis star comes from a rural area where the president was unpopular and declined to share his victory in a picture with the Cristina Fernandez. Ever since then, AFIP (tax revenue office) “has been around” the player and his finances.
Follows the full article:
Argentina has few advocates of freedom of speech more vocal than its president, Cristina Fernández. “Anyone can say whatever they like without fear of repression,” she said in 2010, and called herself an “icon of where freedom of speech is exercised” because of the insults she had suffered. Indeed, Argentina has not jailed anyone for speaking out during her presidency. But she has often used other means to silence her critics.
The government’s most blatant move to limit speech took place last year. Since 2007 it has doctored its inflation statistics to keep them below the true rate. That led investors, firms and journalists to consult private economists, who publish their own consumer-price indices.
Mrs Fernández tolerated this for years. But once she began preparing for her re-election effort, her officials cracked down. Using a truth-in-advertising law passed in 1983 by a military dictatorship, they levied $123,000 fines on ten economists for purportedly misleading consumers.
The other weapon the government has deployed against detractors is AFIP, the national tax agency. Argentina is rife with evasion—30-40% of the economy is informal—and AFIP cannot hope to pursue most of the country’s cheats. But ever since Ms Fernández named Ricardo Echegaray as its head in 2008, the opposition has accused the agency of devoting an outsized share of its scarce resources to her critics.
The best-known case of apparent abuse of AFIP occurred in 2009, when Clarín, Argentina’s bestselling newspaper, ran a story on irregularities in public farm subsidies. A few hours later, 200 tax agents showed up at Clarín’s headquarters. They conducted an extensive search, but the paper was never accused of evasion.
AFIP has also occupied itself with smaller fish. In 2009 Ms Fernández invited Juan Martín del Potro, a tennis player, to meet her after he won the US Open. Mr del Potro, who comes from a rural area where the president was unpopular, declined. Ever since then, says Rafael Groppo, Mr del Potro’s manager, AFIP “has been around” the star—again without finding anything amiss. Roberto Cachanosky, an economist, says he has been audited in four of the past five years, and has been asked to correct a total of $160 of expenses. On March 3rd, he says—the day an article of his criticizing the president was published—an AFIP employee hand-delivered an audit notice to him that was dated three months earlier.
The government has scrupulously denied any ulterior motive behind AFIP’s investigations. But on July 11th Ms Fernández herself revealed political meddling. In a widely broadcast speech, she mentioned an estate agent who had been quoted in a newspaper saying that the government’s currency controls had frozen the Buenos Aires housing market. The president then said she had asked Mr Echegaray to review the tax records of the man’s employer. The company had not filed a return since 2007, and AFIP promptly shut it down.
Meanwhile, AFIP may start to go easy on firms favored by the president. In February it began proceedings to claim a big back-tax bill from YPF, an oil company controlled by Spain’s Repsol. However, the government announced in April that it would nationalize YPF. Since then, five of AFIP’s top investigators have been removed from the case, prompting speculation that it may be dropped or buried. Ms Fernández seems to be taking a lesson from Óscar Benavides, a former Peruvian president. “For my friends, anything,” he once said, “For my enemies, the law”.
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perhaps this guy is swatting for the wrong side .
president, Cristina Fernández.
“she called herself an “icon ?/
That right,
I conn everyone ,,in her own words lol.
It's about time the tax office started to make itself present, all Argentine's hope for more headlines like thisone.
Are they really so desperate?
Anyone having a business in ARG has inspection from AFIP regularly is the AFIP job to make sure that you are not cooking the books like happen in UK with the banks.
In UK HM Revenue & Customs (former Inland Revenue) does the same.
Why should be del Potro or Clarin and exception?
I will not be surprised if the shitty Economist writes and article saying..
Criminals are complying for been arrested because they didn’t want to have a picture with Cristina. Ha ha
I guess crooks neocons do whatever they can to keep their privileges a good example is the banking sector in UK and USA.
God save Queen Cristina © British Kirchnerista
So according with The Economist figure above, ARG nominal GDP should be USD 700bn and more than 1,2 trillion in PPP. Because that % is not counted into the Arg GDP.
What will turns Argentina the 15th biggest economy in the world just behind Canada with 1.4t.
Well may be they are right after all....
'Anyone having a business in ARG has inspection from AFIP regularly is the AFIP job to make sure that you are not cooking the books like happen in UK with the banks.'
Or not since 30-40% of the economy is informal.
As for Clarin, publish a story and then 200 tax inspectors turn up within hours, just coincidence I guess in your little world?
And if that wasn't enough Cretina has even admitted targeting individuals/businesses that she doesn't like.
Anyway back in reality as opposed to what Dany the space cadet calls it, just another day in the corrupt world of South America.
“As for Clarin, publish a story and then 200 tax inspectors turn up within hours, just coincidence I guess in your little world?”
I have many AFIP inspections and?
Should I cry and say that the govt. is targeting me?
By law AFIP can inspect you all the time and if you comply is because you have something to hide.
Do you know any drug dealer happy with the police?
What a disgusting country you are!
@5 And when was CFK's last “regular” inspection? And Tinman's? And Putrid Jelly's? And all the other drones?
@8 Doesn't say it's not counted. Just doesn't get taxed!
@10 I believe CFK is one!
For a tennis player to be targeted by AFIP because he refused to prop up her political campaign is a violation of his human rights.
The Argentine supreme court and the Senete need to impliment rulings restriction the presidents power to use the national tax agency as a politcal weapon. AFIP is there to serve the people, not the dominient politcal party.
we may not be perfect, but by hell we do try to be honest, and stop coruption where we find it,
perhaps the argies could do the same, rather than sit on the sidelines throwing rubbish.
That abuse of power reminds my of our old presiden Nixon........but then he was about to be impeached and was forced to resign. But what do I know......we're a democracy.....republic democracy that is.
Shit for brains.
Banking system completely based on fraud, incompetent overseeing authorities, endless austerity, multiple wars of agression in the last 10 years, massive riots burning your biggest cities down (including historic buildings), appalling past history of bullying little bronze-age tribes across the sea, rigged interest rates, long history of internal terrorism...
Wanna play the game again? Your country ain't all that.
AFIP the best fellow I ever met in my entire life.
I guess i can start to cook my books now according with some idiots here.
ha ha
“I can't believe any country which is supposed to be democratic and mature can allow itself to be governed in such a way.”
Belorus, Zimbabwe, North Korea just to name a few :-D
Everywhere is like this but I knew a case in Britain from 1992 that a guy having vendor machines for coffee, chocolate, candies, etc.
Was send to court and he went into bankruptcy because the old IR in UK made an arbitrary calculation over how much the poor guy had to earn despite all the proof and documentation showed by him.
In US you have the famous case of Bud Abbott & Lou Costello (comedians) that they were prosecuted for back taxes for political reasons. The guys went from rich to poor destroying their life.
So claiming that UK or US system is fairest than the Argentina one is quite scary assertion.
@ St.John
You forgot UK in your list...
Comedians that have been dead for over 50 years.....really, you watch too much old tv
So true. And even her enemies (I think its fair and accurate to call them that now) at the Economist say it! And when an incumbent President is championing freedom of speech rather than claming down, it means they are unusually principled or unusually confident of their popularity; in the case of the lovely Cristina, probably both =)
As for the rest of the article, maybe its just that the pro-rich opposition are more likely to be tax cheats?!
#19 Hehehe! And when am I gonna get my pay that people keep talking about?! Great comments on this one Dany (and thanks for the name check (I think!))
To be honest I don’t know where the payment office is but we can ask to the idiots here were to cash “Clarin & La Nacion” cheques.
Someone told me that once found the office you only have to say “I hate Kretina, all are corrupts, dollar, dollar, insecurity and campo” that’s it you get your check. But I suggest you to pass first for the “Mercado de Liniers” a bit of cow shit smell will help a lot to increase you payment.
: )
@Captain Poppy
I have posted that example because seems that the younger in this forum has at least 60 or may be 70 years old.
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