Amnesty Deadline Looms For Argentina Tax Evaders

BUENOS AIRES (Dow Jones)--The clock is ticking for taxpayers in Argentina to come clean on the evasion of taxes, and the Aug. 31 deadline won't be extended, the head of the Federal Tax Agency, or AFIP, Ricardo Echegaray, told reporters this week.

The amnesty began on March 1, aiming to spur investment through the recovery of Argentine funds hidden by individuals overseas, in safety deposit boxes or under mattresses. It also grants both individuals and corporations a moratorium on the fines and interest owed on unpaid taxes.

Companies will get a big break on taxes owed from before 2008. In some cases, the bill will wipe out lawsuits against these companies and reduce the amount of interest they have to pay on unpaid taxes. In other cases, the bill would cut the amount of taxes due by as much as70%.

According to various estimates, individual Argentines have well over $100 billion invested in overseas accounts, and the government wants to see some of that cash invested in local real estate or goods.

For individuals, tax cheats can declare their hidden stashes and wipe the slate clean by paying an 8% tax, or just 1% if the funds are invested in real estate or goods. That compares with a 35% income tax that should have been paid on most of these funds.

"Those who don't take advantage of the program will have lost a huge opportunity," the AFIP's Echegaray said in a recent interview.

"If the money was never declared, if it came from economic activity that taxes weren't paid on, it doesn't matter, it'll be pardoned," he said.

The AFIP hasn't provided figures on how many have taken advantage of the amnesty nor how much money has been repatriated as a result. However, the tax agency expects a heavy wave as the deadline approaches and the deadbeats rush to take advantage of the amnesty.

Critics say the law will allow people to repatriate money of questionable origin without explaining where it came from.

Echegaray said that that's exactly the point, except with money linked to drug trafficking and terrorists.

"Faced with extraordinary circumstances, one can take exceptional measures, like this...(It's) needed to sustain economic activity," he said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090807-717421.html

Shove their amnesty, up their asses!

Starve the statists now!

Amnesty Deadline Looms For Argentina Tax Evaders

Amnesty Deadline Looms For Argentina Tax Evaders

Anarcho-Capitalist Categorical Imperatives

AnCaps' Laissez-faire Free Trade Zone