It is the check tax, which got added to two other pre-existing in the country for bitcoin. Payment provider companies are exempt, but not those companies that currently operate with cryptocurrencies.
Cryptocurrency purchase and sale operations in Argentina are now paying a new tax on November 17 called “tax on bank debits and credits” or “check tax.”In general, this new tax would not affect users directly, but it harms exchanges.
The measure got announced in the Official Gazette of Tuesday, November 16, issued by the Government of Argentina and signed by President Alberto Fernández, Juan Luis Manzur, the Chief of Staff, and Martín Guzmán, the current Minister of Economy.
Article 7 explained that the exemptions from this tax that apply to payment service provider companies would not be valid in those cases where the movements of funds get linked to the purchase, sale, exchange, and any other operation on crypto, cryptocurrencies, or digital currencies.
To this extent, the exchange houses of Argentina will have to face a new tax for their operations. Although the decree does not directly target final buyers, part of this new tax burden will likely get passed on to these users through commissions or other additional costs in their transactions.
What Taxes did Bitcoin pay in Argentina?
Bitcoin holders in Argentina already had the financial obligation to pay two taxes, if applicable. The first one is the Income Tax, which gets applied to the profits acquired from the difference between the purchase price and the sale price of the cryptocurrency when the latter is higher.
On the other hand, the second tax that could get paid is Personal Property. It is a contribution the taxpayers must make when their assets surpass a non-taxable minimum of approximately ARS 2 million.
In this case, bitcoin is one more good that an individual owns, like a house or a car; it must get included in the sworn presentation that must get submitted along with the individual possessions as of December 31 of each year.
Finally, the Argentine regions also joined the national state in its quest to tax activities connected to cryptocurrencies. Some regions opted for including crypto assets in the Gross Income tax, which must also get paid for the benefits generated from economic activity, such as the sale of cryptocurrencies.
The Central Bank Complies with the Announcement
During a virtual talk led by the Argentine Chamber of Fintech in September, the president of the country’s Central Bank, Miguel Angel Pesce, had stated that interoperability between bank accounts and virtual accounts on PSP platforms was one of the entity’s goals. The decree revealed on November 16 seems to advance in this regard.
In addition to establishing the check tax for cryptocurrencies, this resolution eliminates the obligation to pay that same tax for legal entities that operate with PSP profiles. Likewise, from November 29, all QR codes must adapt to the option of paying with virtual wallets through CVU (uniform virtual key), applying a surcharge of up to 0.8% for each operation.
By: Jenson Nuñez
