Government Proposes Changes to Tax Amnesty Regime: No Caps and New Guarantees

The Ministry of Economy announced this Wednesday a series of changes to the Tax Amnesty bill, which will be sent to Congress. The press conference was led by Minister Luis Caputo and the Legal and Technical Secretary of the Presidency, María Ibarzabal Murphy, with the participation of tax experts.

Elimination of caps to join the regime

The bill eliminates the three requirements that currently limit access to the simplified regime: annual income of up to one billion pesos, assets of up to ten billion, and not being considered a «Large Taxpayer.» With the reform, all resident individuals and undivided estates in the country will be able to join, regardless of assets or income.

The only exception is for «Large Taxpayers»: they can use the simplified modality, but they will not enjoy the presumptions or the liberating effects provided by law. According to Caputo, the goal is that «those savings can be formalized in the banking system without any penalty.»

The minister attributed the measure to the high informality generated by years of tax pressure, fiscal deficit, monetary issuance, inflation, and exchange restrictions. He noted that although dollar deposits in the financial system are at record levels of nearly 40 billion dollars, there is more than four times that amount in savings outside the banking circuit.

New threshold for breaking the presumption

One of the most sensitive changes is the one that defines when the tax authority can break the taxpayer’s presumption of accuracy. Today, if ARCA’s challenge results in an increase of 15% or more over what was declared, the presumption automatically falls. The bill introduces a minimum threshold: even if the 15% is exceeded, the presumption is maintained if the nominal difference does not reach the equivalent of 5% of the evasion amount provided for in the Criminal Tax Law, that is, five million pesos.

Additionally, if ARCA detects a significant discrepancy, the taxpayer may file a corrective sworn declaration and pay the difference plus interest within up to 15 business days from the notification of the official determination.

Refunds and legal certainty

The fourth change provides an additional tool: if the taxpayer challenges the determination and obtains a final ruling in their favor, the presumption of accuracy is fully restored, and ARCA must refund the contributions paid with interest within no more than 45 business days from the notification.

Caputo stated that these changes seek to «strengthen legal certainty» and give confidence to taxpayers to join, regardless of who is in government. The bill was drafted after receiving observations from tax advisors, with whom they set up a working group.

Practical impact and points to follow

The reform directly impacts individuals with undeclared savings, especially those who exceeded the current caps and could not enter the regime. It also benefits «Large Taxpayers,» although with fewer advantages. The changes in the presumption of accuracy and refund deadlines aim to reduce uncertainty for all those who had already joined or plan to do so.

The immediate effects would be:

• Expansion of the universe of potential adherents: there are no longer limits on assets or income.
• Lower risk of the presumption of accuracy falling due to differences of less than five million pesos.
• 15-day period to rectify and pay differences without losing benefits.
• Obligation for ARCA to refund with interest within 45 days if the taxpayer wins a challenge.

The conditional effects depend on Congress’s approval. If the bill is modified, the changes could vary. Furthermore, practical implementation will require ARCA to adapt its systems and procedures.

The still uncertain effects are the real impact on tax collection and the formalization of savings, since there are no official estimates on how much money could enter the banking system. Nor is it known how taxpayers will react to the changes in the presumption.

What to follow

The key data to follow is the legislative treatment of the bill: whether it is approved without modifications, when it is regulated, and how ARCA implements the new thresholds and deadlines. It is also advisable to observe whether official statistics are published on adherence to the regime and the amount of formalized funds, to assess whether the measure meets the announced objectives.