MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Foreign tourists in Argentina will be refunded VAT on hotel services
Macri signed the order at Casa Rosada during a World Tourism Day event with Tourism minister Santos, Finance minister Prat Gay and industry representatives. 
“Everything that in the past made Argentina seem a faraway country, now work in favor” because of the changes the government has introduced, Macri said. Argentine president Mauricio Macri signed an executive order on Tuesday under which foreign tourists will receive a refund of the value-added tax, or VAT, paid on hotel services in an effort to attract more visitors to Argentina and boost tourist businesses.
The executive order requires the “direct and automatic” reimbursement to tourists of the VAT paid on hotel services using debit or credit cards issued overseas.
Macri signed the order at the Casa Rosada presidential palace during a World Tourism Day event as Tourism Minister Gustavo Santos, Finance Minister Alfonso Prat Gay and tourism industry representatives looked on.
Legislation has been in place since 2001 covering VAT refunds for foreigners, but the implementing regulations covered only purchases of goods and had not been extended to hospitality services until now.
Macri urged the public and private sectors to work toward “strong tourism development,” adding that globalization had turned the business ”into a powerful industry without smokestacks that boosts quality employment around the world, (and) Argentina has a lot to offer.“
”Everything that in the past made Argentina seem a faraway country, now work in favor“ because of the changes the government has introduced, Macri said. ”It is important to take advantage of the enormous opportunities opening up in our relationship with the world,” the president underlined.
The government has concluded that refunding VAT payments will increase Argentina's appeal to foreign visitors and the flow of hard currency, boosting tourism businesses and creating jobs.
The executive order noted that neighboring countries, such as Chile, Uruguay, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia, offer similar incentives.
The Macri administration estimates the initiative will help an annual arrival of 120.000 new tourists, which would spend some 90 million dollars and create 8.000 jobs.
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Read all commentsYes, Chile has been doing this for some time but it is always worth checking the exchange rate hotels are using. Dollar payments for tourists are supposed to be 19% tax free but take a moment to check the peso rate which includes the tax and they are often about the same.
Sep 28th, 2016 - 09:13 am 0I suspect there is more to this plan for Argentina. For as long as I have been travelling to Argentina local owned hotels will offer massive discounts for cash payments. Pure tax avoidance. I imagine the discount scheme will require some kind of formal payment with a credit card - as in Chile.
Will that make a difference when I was just charged A1,148 pesos (the equivalent of CAD$103.56 ) for two gin and Cinzano drinks in the Savoy Hotel in Buenos Aires....the most expensive in the World me thinks
Sep 28th, 2016 - 04:33 pm 0I am arriving in Arg tomorrow and have just booked a hotel at P.Iguazu and paid the VAT (21% extra on top of the price quoted on booking.com). I wonder whether the hotel will refund me there and then or whether I have to go through a tediously slow bureaucratic performance when I leave the country? I suspect the latter.
Sep 28th, 2016 - 06:00 pm 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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