The new rate consists of a 1.2% tax on purchases and debits.
Consumption with credit cards in the City of Buenos Aires will begin to pay a new aliquot of 1.2% for stamp tax, when the tax incorporated in the 2021 Budget enters into force and approved by the Buenos Aires Legislature last December 10 .
The Tax on Stamps on credit cards was included by the City Government with the objective of raising $ 7.7 billion and consists of a 1.2% tax on purchases and debits made through this means. Friday.
Private estimates made during the debate on the new aliquot, indicated that the collection to which the City could aspire with this tribute and other tax increases would rise to almost $ 20,000 million.
The taxable base of this tax will be all bank credit cards, for consumption in both pesos and dollars, of all those accounts registered with domicile in the City of Buenos Aires, even if the owner resides in another jurisdiction.
For and against
The measure, even before its approval, had received the rejection of the entities representing merchants and small and medium-sized companies, on the understanding that it is a new tax on consumption at a time when the recovery of economic activity is being promoted .
In this sense, entities such as the Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (Came), the Assembly of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (Apyme) of the City manifested themselves, also understanding that the risk is the greater informality in sales and the least incentive to bankarization.
The measure was rejected by the entities representing merchants and small and medium-sized companies.
The official argument about the measure was that it is part of a plan designed to balance the accounts that were planned prior to the decision of the national government to redirect a percentage of the coparticipation item that the City received., which was estimated at $ 52,000 million.
To do this, they set for 2021 “the suspension, slowdown and postponement” of works, a “minimal and essential maintenance of public space” and the review of “the major contracts and services provided by the City”, such as the collection of waste.
Tax changes were also determined from the elimination of the exemption on Gross Income to Liquidity Letters (Leliq) and a modification that consists of increasing the tax rate on Gross Income to the financial sector from 7% to 8%.
In defending the project, the Buenos Aires Minister of Finance and Finance, Martín Mura explained that “these taxes are not an invention of the City, but are applied in other jurisdictions”, in relation to the collection of a 1.2% aliquot to the debits or charges for the period included in the settlement or summary.
“In a country where consumption represents two-thirds of the product, the City has the luxury of imposing a tax on the motor of the post-pandemic recovery””
Julián Moreno, vice president of Apyme
In response, the vice president of Apyme, Julián Moreno, stated that “taxes should tax other issues, such as large wealth or speculative financial transactions” and regretted that “in a country where consumption represents two thirds of the product, the City has the luxury of imposing a tax on the post-pandemic recovery engine. “
In a similar vein, the president of the CAME, Gerardo Díaz Beltrán also expressed his “emphatic rejection” of the new tribute and considered that “it is unusual, because they want to stimulate the economy by overwhelming the one who starts it; instead of generating more incentives to mobilize sales and productive activity, they hit the customer “.