The Argentine government is introducing the "Principle of Fiscal Innocence" to encourage the regularization of undeclared capital. This is the largest permanent popular whitewashing program in history. Under the new law, a wealth cap of up to $10 billion is set to participate. A key point of Fiscal Innocence is that affected taxpayers will not have to report asset variations or justify the growth of their wealth, and their consumption will not be monitored. In practice, this means that the Revenue and Customs Control Agency (ARCA) will only collect the Income Tax on effectively billed income, deducting consumption, without considering the potential increase in assets. Liberating Effect and Tax Benefits The "liberating effect of payment" states that if the taxpayer accepts the affidavit proposed by ARCA and pays on time, they are released from subsequent actions, except in cases where income has been omitted. Girard questioned the fiscal innocence regime: "It is a permanent whitewash for the rich". Additionally, the initiative provides that ARCA will not initiate criminal proceedings if the taxpayer settles the tax liabilities along with their interests. This benefit, however, can only be used once per taxpayer. In cases where the criminal complaint has not yet been filed, the action will be extinguished if the taxpayer pays the debt plus an additional 50% within 30 business days from the notification of the imputation. Changes in Tax Evasion and Prescription In these cases, the amounts from which tax evasion is considered a crime are also raised. For simple evasion, the threshold increases from $1,500,000 to $100,000,000, while aggravated evasion will only be investigated when the amount exceeds $1,000,000, compared to the current $15,000,000. Another relevant change is the reduction of the statute of limitations for tax obligations, which drops from five to three years, limiting the time the State has to claim tax debts. Whitewashing, the objective. Buenos Aires, February 9 (NA) - With the aim of society injecting its dollar savings into the formal economy, with the "Law of Fiscal Innocence" the Government seeks, among other points, to encourage people to make investments in the country. The Executive's initiative aims to incorporate into the formal economy the so-called "dollars under the mattress", that is, undeclared assets and funds. The largest permanent popular whitewashing in history was regulated. What does the "Law of Fiscal Innocence" say? The text introduces key changes to the Tax Criminal Regime of Law 24.769, the Tax Procedures Law (11.683) and the Civil and Commercial Code of the Nation, in addition to creating a simplified affidavit regime with the objective of flexibilizing tax controls and promoting voluntary regularization. What is the "Principle of Fiscal Innocence"? It allows individuals and legal entities to enter the formal system with undeclared assets, as long as they meet certain requirements.
