Private Wealth 2025

ARGENTINA Law and Practice Contributed by: Juan McEwan and Agustín Lacoste, McEWAN

non-resident on or after 1 January 2018. Where the real estate being sold was acquired by the non-resi - dent prior to 1 January 2018, a 1.5% withholding tax (ITI) will apply. In addition, the deed of sale of the real estate is subject to stamp tax – the rate of which will depend on where the real estate is located, as each province sets a specific rate within its own provincial tax code. By way of example, in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, the tax rate for the transfer of owner - ship of real estate is 3.5% on the economic value of the contract. Where a non-resident receives income on the sale or transfer of shares or other interests in foreign entities, and the value of this derives at least 30% from assets located in Argentina (eg, real estate), this income will be taxed in the same way as capital gains. Gratuitous transfers during the non-resident lifetime (gift) of real estate situated within PBA will be sub - ject to ITGB. If the gratuitous transfer derives from the death of the non-resident (inheritance), court fees derived from the succession proceeding will also apply (amounting from 1.5% to 2.2% of the value of the property). Fideicomisos (local trusts) are commonly used struc - tures to defer ITGB and avoid court fees. If the prop - erty is situated outside PBA, gifting the real estate could be an alternative (the donor may keep lifetime usufruct over the given property). 1.5 Stability of Tax Laws Stability is not a quality that is readily associated with Argentina, and the country’s tax legislation is no exception to this. This can clearly be seen by the changes made to PAT in recent years, which can be summarised as follows. • In May 2016, the National Executive Branch sent a draft bill to Congress, which included a tax amnes - ty, a moratorium, and staggered modifications in the non-taxable minimum amounts and rates of PAT. The bill contemplated the abrogation of PAT as of 1 January 2019. • Law 27.260 (22 July 2016) introduced staggered modifications in the non-taxable minimum amounts and rates of PAT. The abrogation of this tax was finally set aside.

• Law 27.429 (22 December 2017) established the fiscal consensus reached by the federal govern - ment, the provinces (except San Luis) and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. It was aimed at implementing tax policies designed to promote and increase investment, as well as private employ - ment, through a reduction in the fiscal burden of taxes with a distortive effect on overall economic activity. The other side of the obligations assumed by local jurisdictions was the commitment not to create new national taxes on assets or increase the tax rate on PAT. • On 12 October 2018, the National Executive Branch submitted a bill to ratify amendments to the previously mentioned fiscal consensus. Item (e) of the bill provided for the suspension of the commit - ment assumed by the national government. • Law 27.480 (21 December 2018) raised the mini - mum taxable base and the fixed 0.25% tax rate was finally replaced by a progressive scale (up to 0.75% tax rate). • Law 27.541 (23 December 2019) raised tax rates once again through a progressive scale ranging between 0.5% and 1.25% and delegated to the executive branch the power to establish differential rates for assets held outside Argentina, which have been finally raised to up to 2.25%. • Law 27.667 (31 December 2021) again raised tax rates, which now range within a progressive scale between 0.5% and 1.75% for domestic property and from 0.70% to 2.25% for assets held abroad. • Besides PAT, a one-off extraordinary contribution levied on the assets held by individuals and undi- vided estates (both residents and non-residents) was enacted in 2020. This tax was known as aporte solidario y extraordinario or impuesto a la riqueza . • Law 27.743 (27 June 2024) – as mentioned in 1.1 Tax Regimes (Personal Asset Tax – Amendments to Legislation) – established a single progressive tax rate for domestic and foreign assets alike, ranging from 0.5% to 1.5% for fiscal year 2023. Furthermore, it provides a reduction of tax rates for the following fiscal years: (a) fiscal year 2024 ‒ from 0.50% to 1.25%; (b) fiscal year 2025 ‒ from 0.50% to 1.00%; (c) fiscal year 2026 ‒ from 0.50% to 0.75%; and (d) fiscal year 2027 ‒ a flat rate of 0.25%.

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