Argentina U-Turns On Crypto Tax With New Regulation

In an abrupt U-turn on an earlier stance adopted by the country’s authorities, the Argentinian government has released a decree that imposes a tax on credits and debts on transactions involving cryptoassets. The regulation was published on November 17, and the measures entered into force on the same day.

“The exemptions provided for in this decree and in other regulations of a similar nature will not be applicable in those cases in which the movements of funds are linked to the purchase, sale, exchange, intermediation and/or any other operation on cryptoassets, cryptocurrencies, digital coins, or similar instruments, in the terms defined by the applicable regulations,” the Argentinian cabinet said in the decree, as reported by local paper Buenos Aires Times.

Crypto transactions were previously exempt from the levy which, under Argentinian law, is called the tax on credits and debits in bank accounts and other transactions. Such transactions were treated as if they were cash transfers, according to Sebastián Domínguez from local tax consultancy SDC Asesores Tributarios.

The tax is levied at rates of up to 0.6%. 

The latest development imposes yet another levy on Argentinian crypto users. In 2017, a reform of the country’s tax code extended the income tax to capital gains earned from transactions that involve cryptoassets.

Earlier this month, it was reported that a number of companies were eyeing Latin America – and countries like Argentina and Paraguay in particular – amid their search to create new bases for bitcoin (BTC) and altcoin mining operations. 

Data released by the University of Cambridge indicates that Argentina accounted for just 0.05% of the global bitcoin hashrate last August. It is yet to be seen whether the government’s revised tax policy will have a negative impact on the country’s appeal to crypto industry players. 

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