Buenos Aires, December 24 (NA) – The Senate is set to pass the 'Tax Innocence' bill into law this Friday, which aims to allow the government to bring dollars purchased on the informal market into the formal economy. The initiative will be debated during the session scheduled for next Friday at noon, following the budget debate, whose passage is a government priority, according to Argentina News Agency from official sources. The bill received a favorable report last Friday at a joint session of the Justice and Criminal Affairs Committee, chaired by Juan Carlos Pagotto, after being approved in the early hours of December 18. The ruling coalition secured the support of the UCR, PRO, and provincial blocs from Misiones, Corrientes, and Tucumán, as the Peronist party has decided not to join the committees, rejecting the formation of these advisory bodies. The initiative establishes the creation of a 'Simplified Income Tax Regime,' under which, according to the government, taxpayers who opt in will be 'forever shielded.' This regime, with a wealth cap of up to 10 billion pesos for eligibility, guarantees that taxpayers will not have to report on asset variations, nor will their spending be monitored. This means ARCA will only levy income tax on revenues actually earned, regardless of potential asset growth (which will not be monitored), and consumption will be deducted from that base. Article 39 of the project 'establishes the liberating effect of payment, if the content of the sworn statement proposed by ARCA is accepted and payment is made on time; except that income has been omitted.' Tax Evasion The 'Tax Innocence' bill increases the thresholds for what constitutes the crime of 'simple tax evasion,' raising it from $1,500,000 to $100,000,000. Meanwhile, for the conduct to be considered 'aggravated tax evasion,' the threshold must exceed 1 billion pesos (up from 15 million). Prescription of Obligations Furthermore, the statute of limitations for tax obligations is reduced from five to three years. ARCA will not initiate criminal proceedings as long as the debts and their respective interests are paid, although this benefit will only apply once per taxpayer. If the complaint has not yet been filed, it will be extinguished if the taxpayer settles these obligations by paying an additional 50% within 30 business days of notification of the charge. Although the bill aims to relax fiscal controls, the amounts of economic sanctions for filing late tax returns will increase.
