Mr Fernandes did not specify which sectors would be subject to the levy, but referred to recent increases in the prices of wheat, sunflower, corn, beef and other products exported by Argentina.
The Argentine president on Monday defended his decision to draft a bill that would impose a special end to the “unexpected winners” of the war in Ukraine, amid rising prices in some sectors, such as agri-food, which he described as “immoral”. “, As inflation affects the most vulnerable households.
The war in Ukraine and its effects on prices “affect millions of people but benefit a very small number (…) who earn huge (amounts)”, said President Alberto Fernandez, presenting, at the presidency, the bill for the imposition of excise tax.
He spoke of “immorality”, of “indecency” that “we can not allow” in a country where poverty affects almost four in ten (37% of the population) and the forecast for inflation this year is that it will reach 60- 70%.
Mr Fernandes did not specify which sectors would be subject to the levy, but referred to recent increases in the prices of wheat, sunflower, corn, beef and other products exported by Argentina.
The incumbent president (center-left), with Economy Minister Martin Guzman at his side, urged parliament, to which the bill will be tabled in the coming weeks, to approve the tax, assuring it was nothing more than a radical left-wing measure.
“We will do nothing but what the world has already done and is doing again today,” he said, referring to the British government ‘s excise tax on oil giants in May. energy sector, or even a similar tax imposed on the United States in 1917, against the backdrop of World War I.
The center-left government, however, knows that passing the bill will be difficult in parliament, as it does not have an absolute majority in either of its two parties, even though it has the largest parliamentary groups. The opposition has already clarified how it will oppose.
Neither Mr. Fernandez nor Mr. Guzman clarified what the excise tax rate would be, saying only that it would apply to companies with a turnover of more than $ 1 billion ($ 8.2 million) and a net profit of $ 10. % in 2022, or an increase of 10% between 2021 and 2022. The rate may be around 15%.
The bill has the approval of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with which Buenos Aires recently concluded a $ 44 billion debt restructuring agreement.
The president and the economy minister did not say whether they have any particular target for the revenue that will come from the state, which is expected to go to the General Redistribution Fund.
Against the backdrop of the escalating inflationary crisis, as the impact of the war in Ukraine exacerbated chronic inflation in Argentina (50.9% in 2021), the government has been forced in recent months to take steps to alleviate the shock of rising prices to the most vulnerable households. In the first four months of 2022, inflation reached 23.1%.
