Argentines declare $90 bln in tax amnesty, recession lingers

Record ID: 162454

  • Title: Argentines declare $90 bln in tax amnesty, recession lingers
  • Date: 27th December 2016
  • Summary: BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA (FILE) (REUTERS) ARGENTINE ECONOMY MINISTER, ALFONSO PRAT-GAY, STEPPING UP TO PODIUM PRAT-GAY SPEAKING PEOPLE APPLAUDING PRAT-GAY GREETING OTHER OFFICIALS AS HE STEPS AWAY FROM MICROPHONE VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF THE AFIP (FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION OF PUBLIC INCOME) BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 11th January 2017 22:17
  • Keywords: Argentina economy Alfonso Prat-Gay tax amnesty
  • Location: BUENOS AIRES AND PILAR, BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE, ARGENTINA
  • City: BUENOS AIRES AND PILAR, BUENOS AIRES PROVINCE, ARGENTINA
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0015ENSSW3
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Argentina said on Tuesday (December 27) that $90 billion in assets had been declared so far under the government's tax amnesty plan, which outgoing Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay called "an extraordinary success."
    "Declared assets reached $90 billion dollars. $1.3 trillion pesos from Argentines who decided to use this programme and take part in this initiative to settle fiscal matters. Up until yesterday there have been 235,000 sworn declarations which far surpasses any clearing up that we know of from the region including those recently done in Brazil and Chile," he said.
    Other government data published Tuesday showed economic activity fell 4.7 percent in October compared with the same month a year earlier, as the economy remains in recession a year into center-right President Mauricio Macri's administration. The economy was flat in October compared with September.
    The government hopes that funds declared under the tax amnesty will help jump-start growth and boost tax revenue.
    The government had collected 82 billion pesos ($5.27 billion) in fees paid by those who declared assets in the tax amnesty through Monday evening, Prat-Gay said.
    "It is without a doubt the most important initiative of its kind in Argentine history and among the top fiscal amnesty initiatives worldwide... but just so we can understand and compare in terms of collection, those 82 billion pesos ($5.27 billion USD) which will surely turn into more, are 1 percentage of the gross domestic product," he said.
    That would help the government stick to its target for a fiscal deficit of 4.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2016, even though revenues had fallen short as the economy performed worse than expected, Prat-Gay said.
    Prat-Gay will leave his post at the end of the week after Macri asked for his resignation, cabinet chief Marcos Pena said on Monday, citing disagreements over management style and team structure.
    The Finance Ministry will be split into two. The current finance secretary Luis Caputo will lead a division focused on sovereign debt management while economist Nicolas Dujovne, considered more of a fiscal hawk than Prat-Gay, focuses on the budget. ($1 = 15.56 Argentine pesos)
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