On October 13th, two new regulations were officialized with their publication in the Official Gazette, establishing new taxes applicable on cross-border and/or foreign exchange operations, creating the two new de-facto exchange rates, so-called “Dolar Coldplay” and “Dolar Qatar”.
Decree No. 682/2022 issued by the Executive Branch introduced a new taxable event for the PAIS Tax (Spanish acronym for “Por una Argentina Inclusiva y Solidaria”) extending the 30% applicable tax to operations of acquisition of foreign currency for payment of personal, cultural, and recreational services (not including educational services) acquired abroad, or locally if rendered by a non-resident service provider; and acquisition of foreign currency for import of certain luxury goods.
This measure may prove to be somewhat controversial since a completely new taxable event was established by the Execute Branch, given the constitutional requirement that the creation of new taxes shall be established by a bill passed by Congress.
At the same time, General Resolution No. 5272 issued by the Federal Tax Authority modified the collection regime for the additional tax applicable to operations subject to the PAIS Tax, establishing a 70% additional tax when using the foreign exchange market for the payment of the acquisition of goods or services made abroad, or digital services that non-residents provide to Argentine residents; using a credit or debit cards and for transactions equal or greater to USD 300.
The additional 70% tax is essentially considered an advance payment of Income Tax and Personal Assets Tax and is refundable if paid in excess or for persons who are not subject to those taxes. The refund may be requested once the calendar year in which the tax was collected ends, although the refundable amounts are highly affected by the ongoing inflation process.
This report cannot be considered as legal or any other kind of advice by Allende & Brea.
