ARGENTINA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Sebastián López Sansón, Rubén Darío Atim, Martina Pilar García Vidal and Bautista López González, Salaberren & López Sansón
A Shift Toward Predictability in Argentine Taxation: The 2024–2026 Reform Agenda Note: Monetary amounts are stated in Argentine pesos (ARS), with USD equivalents included only as illustra - tive references and subject to exchange rate variation. Introduction: a system built on distrust For decades, Argentina’s tax system evolved in a con - text of recurring macroeconomic instability, including sustained inflation, exchange controls and capital restrictions. In that setting, criminal tax exposure extended beyond cases of deliberate fraud. Because statutory thresholds were not adjusted in real terms for long periods, relatively modest discrepancies could trigger criminal proceedings, creating a climate of heightened enforcement risk. Over time, tax administration increasingly relied on broad audit powers, expansive reporting regimes and extensive legal presumptions. As inflation eroded the real value of fixed statutory thresholds, the practi - cal reach of criminal liability expanded, blurring the line between routine non-compliance and genuinely fraudulent conduct. This framework produced structural consequences. A significant share of household and individual savings remained outside the formal financial system, often held in US dollars or kept outside declared channels. Compliance was frequently approached defensively, in response to enforcement pressure, rather than as part of a stable and predictable regulatory environ - ment. Against this backdrop, the current administration has presented its reform agenda in an effort to recalibrate the relationship between the State and taxpayers. Law No 27,799, commonly referred to as the “Tax Inno - cence Law”, is the central legislative expression of that effort and marks an important institutional shift in Argentina’s approach to tax enforcement. A sequenced reform agenda: context before the law The Tax Innocence Law should not be read as an isolated statutory measure. Rather, it forms part of a deliberately sequenced reform process launched in
December 2023, aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and rebuilding institutional credibility. The first phase took the form of broad legislative authorisation. Law No 27,742 (the Ley de Bases ) declared an economic and administrative emergency and enabled a sweeping reorganisation of the public sector. Although not limited to tax matters, it provided the structural foundation for subsequent reforms. From a tax and investment perspective, one of its most consequential features was the creation of RIGI ( Régi- men de Incentivo para Grandes Inversiones ), designed to attract large-scale capital projects through long- term commitments of legal, tax and foreign exchange stability for up to 30 years. This marked a broader policy shift toward predictability. Institutional restructuring followed. In late 2024, the federal tax authority was reorganised, replacing AFIP with ARCA ( Agencia de Recaudación y Control Adu- anero ) and redefining enforcement mandates. Law No 27,799: the “Tax Innocence Law” The reform can be grouped into five principal areas: • higher thresholds for criminal prosecution; • extinction of criminal liability through payment; • administrative penalties for failure to file; • new statute of limitations periods; and • creation of a Simplified Income Tax Return Regime. ARCA has described the purpose of the law as restor - ing “a framework of reasonableness and predictabil - ity”, and ending what it characterises as unjustified criminal and administrative persecution historically affecting individual taxpayers. Higher thresholds for criminal prosecution The law substantially increases the monetary thresh - olds required to trigger criminal prosecution, with the stated aim of reserving criminal enforcement for more significant cases of tax evasion. The new thresholds are as follows. • Simple evasion: the threshold increases from ARS1.5 million to ARS100 million per tax and per tax year (approximately USD70,000).
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