MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Revenue hungry Argentine government tightens fiscal measures

Electronic bills for all major transactions

The Argentine government announced a package of fiscal control measures on Thursday, including the use of electronic bills for sales of imported goods, second-hand car sales and hotel operations.

The announcement was made by the Director of the Argentine Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP) Ricardo Echegaray, who was accompanied by Argentine Economy Minister Amado Boudou and Justice Minister Julio Alak.

The fiscal control includes the electronic control of car sales, sales of imported goods, and hotel operations as well as a new registration for entity owners, who currently do not pay tax on profits, to automatically renew their property value.

About 25,000 importers, 4,500 to 5,000 hotel operators and 32,000 NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) which did not pay tax on profits would be affected by the plan.

“The measures will contribute to speed up the procedures and give transparency to the operations and the progressive elimination of the importers who sometimes make the market dirty,” Echegaray explained.

The announcement can be understood in the context of the global financial crisis, as Argentina's primary fiscal surplus plunged 85.5% in August compared to the same month a year ago.