Buenos Aires, Dec. 7 (NA) -- The National Government sent to Congress the bill for the 'Principle of Fiscal Innocence,' with the objective of legally 'shielding' individuals who use 'dollars under the mattress' and drastically reducing the number of tax evasion cases in the tax criminal jurisdiction. According to the Argentine News Agency, the initiative seeks to transform the Tax Criminal Regime (which establishes penalties of up to 9 years in prison) and create a scheme that incentivizes the use of undeclared money by eliminating the need to justify personal consumption.
IP
The 5 Keys to the 'Fiscal Innocence' Law
The bill, which aims to encourage the injection of undeclared money into the market, is based on the following modifications:
Increase in the Threshold for Criminal Evasion: The amounts from which a taxpayer can be investigated for tax evasion are significantly increased:
- Simple Evasion: Increases from $1.5 million to $100 million.
- Aggravated Evasion: The minimum amount increases from $15 million to $1,000 million.
Shorter Prescription Periods: The bill reduces from 5 to 3 years the period during which ARCA (Revenue and Customs Agency) can demand the payment of undeclared taxes or file complaints.
Simplified Regime for 'Dollars under the Mattress': A simplified Income Tax regime is created for individuals with incomes of less than $1,000 million and assets of less than $10,000 million. The penalty for not filing the sworn statement, which was $200, will be $220,000 for individuals and $440,000 for corporations.
This scheme eliminates the obligation to report personal consumption, which facilitates the use of undeclared money.
Less Criminal Prosecution: ARCA will not file the criminal complaint if the individual or company settles their debt before the complaint is filed or pays the entire debt, its interest, and an additional 50% surcharge within the 30 days following the start of the investigation.
Heavier Fines: The bill compensates for the reduced controls with a significant increase in fines for formal non-compliance.
