ARGENTINA Trends and Developments Contributed by: Sebastián López Sansón, Rubén Darío Atim, Martina Pilar García Vidal and Bautista López González, Salaberren & López Sansón
thresholds ranging from USD150,000 (for micro-enter - prises) to USD9 million (for medium-sized enterprises). For RIMI purposes, “productive investments” include: • the acquisition, manufacture, development or importation of new depreciable movable assets (excluding automobiles) for use in productive activities in Argentina; and • construction works and infrastructure projects directly allocated to income-generating operations in the country. Financial assets and portfolio investments are expressly excluded. The principal tax benefits include: • accelerated depreciation for income tax purposes (in some cases, in one or two instalments); and • early refund of VAT credits (after three monthly tax periods). The regime is subject to strict compliance conditions, including the exclusion of taxpayers with final criminal tax convictions, outstanding tax debts or participation in overlapping incentive regimes (such as RIGI). Conclusion: toward a new tax architecture Recent legislative developments reflect an ongo - ing adjustment of Argentina’s tax framework. The Tax Innocence Law significantly raises the monetary thresholds for criminal tax offences and narrows the circumstances in which tax adjustments may give rise to criminal proceedings. As a result, criminal liability is now more closely linked to cases involving material amounts and demonstrable intent. The new Labour Modernisation Act also introduces tax amendments with practical implications for both companies and individuals. Argentina has a long history of periodic tax amnesties ( blanqueos ), through which taxpayers were invited to disclose previously undeclared assets in exchange for reduced penalties or forgiveness. Those programmes were typically temporary, politically sensitive and
explicitly framed as extraordinary regularisation win - dows. The Simplified Income Tax Return Regime follows a different logic. It is not presented as an extraordi - nary regularisation window and does not require the disclosure of previously undeclared assets. Instead, taxpayers may confirm a pre-filled return and obtain a liberatory effect for the relevant tax year. In addition, the regime may produce a stabilising effect on prior tax positions through the presumption-of-accuracy mechanism for non-statute-barred periods, subject to the legal thresholds and conditions discussed above, including the absence of a significant discrepancy in the most recent filing. Although the regime is not formally characterised as an amnesty, it may, in practice and under strict statu - tory conditions, generate effects comparable to a lim - ited regularisation mechanism: it can facilitate the use of lawfully sourced funds within the formal financial system and support economic activity, while reducing potential adverse tax consequences for non-statute- barred periods to the extent the regime’s protective effects remain available. Argentina’s Tax Innocence reform: a quick summary • Argentina’s Tax Innocence reform should be read as part of a broader shift toward greater predict - ability and proportionality in tax enforcement. • The reform raises criminal tax thresholds, narrow - ing criminal exposure to higher value cases. • It introduces an optional Simplified Income Tax Return Regime for eligible individuals, based on prefilled tax returns prepared by ARCA. • If properly filed and paid, the regime may provide a liberatory effect for the relevant tax year and support a presumption of accuracy mechanism for prior non-statute-barred periods, subject to condi - tions. • The regime is not unconditional: its protective effects may be challenged where ARCA identifies a significant discrepancy. • Although not formally characterised as an amnesty, the regime may, in practice and under strict condi - tions, operate as a limited regularisation mecha - nism by facilitating the use of lawfully sourced
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