Church and Government: Differences Over Papal Visit and Changes to Asset Regularization

In the lead-up to Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Argentina, the relationship between the Government and the Catholic Church shows nuances. While the Episcopal Conference emphasizes that institutional cooperation does not imply political alignment, the Ministry of Economy announced modifications to the Fiscal Innocence bill. Two issues that, although distinct, show how the ruling party seeks to advance its agenda with different actors.

The Church and the papal visit: limits to official strategy

Sources close to the Episcopal Conference assure that the Church is willing to collaborate with the Government in organizing the visit of Leo XIV, but they intend to set a limit: institutional cooperation does not mean political alignment. «We want the visit to be successful, but the Pope cannot become a piece of the Government’s electoral strategy,» summarized an ecclesiastical source cited by the newspaper Tribuna.

Among the bishops there is concern that the presence of Leo XIV may be presented as indirect support for Javier Milei. In this context, recent statements by Marcelo Colombo, Ángel Rossi, and Gustavo Carrara are interpreted as part of an increasingly visible institutional position. Rossi questioned that macroeconomic improvement effectively reaches the population and warned about «messianisms fraught with disqualifications and insults.» Carrara stated that «what the INDEC cannot measure is the suffering of the people,» while Colombo rejected that household indebtedness be considered solely «a problem between private parties.»

Work is also being done to give the visit a plural and cross-cutting character. Colombo proposed that the meeting with civil society include leaders from different parties and former presidents such as Mauricio Macri, Alberto Fernández, and Eduardo Duhalde. «Leo XIV is not coming to visit Milei’s government; he is coming to meet Argentina,» they explain near the Episcopate.

Another fact fuels tension: Milei has not yet institutionally received the Church leadership, which hopes to hold that meeting before the Pope’s arrival. While Karina Milei appears as a central interlocutor for the organization, the operational channel seems to function more fluidly than the political relationship between the President and the Episcopate.

Government modifies Fiscal Innocence project

In parallel, the Ministry of Economy announced changes to the Fiscal Innocence bill, which seeks to formalize undeclared savings. Minister Luis Caputo, together with the Legal and Technical Secretary of the Presidency, María Ibarzabal Murphy, held a press conference detailing the modifications. «The spirit of the law does not change at all. The objective remains that these savings can be formalized in the banking system without any penalty of any kind,» Caputo stated.

The decision to promote a new law came after receiving observations from tax advisors on various aspects of the previously approved regulation. «As the weeks and months went by, we gathered this information. We set up a working group with tax experts to clarify some issues that make citizens feel much more at ease that, regardless of who is in government, they will be covered in these situations,» the minister said.

Caputo emphasized that the initiative seeks to respond to a process of growing informality generated by years of high tax burden, fiscal deficit, monetary issuance, inflation, and exchange restrictions. In that sense, he pointed out that these factors led many Argentines to keep their savings outside the financial system.

The minister indicated that currently, even though dollar deposits in the financial system are at record levels close to 40 billion dollars, there is an amount more than four times that figure in savings kept outside the banking circuit. In this context, he argued that formalizing these resources represents a benefit both for citizens and for the development of the economy. «For people, keeping dollars under the mattress is a very bad business. Dollars lose value because there is also inflation in the United States. A dollar today does not buy the same as a dollar 20 years ago,» he said.

The four key changes in the project

The first change relates to the subjects who can enter the simplified income tax declaration system. Currently, to enter the regime, the law requires the taxpayer to simultaneously meet three conditions: their income does not exceed one billion pesos per year; their total assets do not exceed ten billion pesos; and they do not qualify as a «Large Taxpayer» according to ARCA regulations. The project eliminates these conditions: the regime is open to all natural persons and undivided estates resident in the country without distinction of assets or income, with one caveat regarding «Large Taxpayers.» The project clarifies that «Large Taxpayers» may adhere to the «simplified modality» (which allows the tax authority to pre-calculate the tax and make payment more efficiently) but do not enjoy the presumptions, liberating effects, or other benefits provided by the law.

The second change touches one of the most sensitive points of the regime: when can the tax authority break the taxpayer’s presumption of accuracy. Currently, the law says that if ARCA’s challenge results in an increase of 15% or more over what was declared, the presumption automatically falls. In practice, this can lead to situations where that 15% represents a minimal difference in nominal terms with a serious consequence. The project introduces a minimum threshold: even if the 15% is exceeded, the presumption of accuracy is not broken if the nominal difference claimed does not reach the equivalent of 5% of the evasion amount provided in Article 1 of the Criminal Tax Law. In concrete numbers: if the difference does not exceed five million pesos, the presumption is maintained.

The third change refers to the possibility of rectification. If ARCA detects a significant discrepancy, the taxpayer can now file a corrective declaration and pay the difference (plus corresponding interest) within up to 15 business days from being notified of the official determination.

The fourth change provides an additional tool to the taxpayer: if ARCA’s challenge is rejected, the presumption of accuracy is fully restored, and ARCA is obliged to reimburse the contributions paid with interest, within a period not exceeding 45 business days from notification of the final resolution.

Comparison of data between sources

The two sources address different topics, but both involve the Government and institutional actors. Source 1 (newspaper Tribuna) focuses on the Church’s stance regarding the papal visit, while source 2 (Ministry of Economy) details regulatory changes. There are no directly comparable figures between the two, but the amounts mentioned in the economic announcement can be contrasted with the magnitude of informality that seeks to be reduced.

Methodological note: The table compares data from the official announcement (primary source, Ministry of Economy) with the absence of that data in the journalistic source (secondary source). No additional calculations are made because the sources do not provide the elements to do so reliably. The figures are kept in their original units (pesos and dollars) without conversion, since the official exchange rate on the date of the announcement is not available.

What to follow

In the short term, it will be relevant to observe whether the meeting between Milei and the ecclesiastical leadership takes place before the Pope’s arrival, and whether the papal visit manages to maintain a plural character or if the Government tries to capitalize on it electorally. On the economic front, it is worth following the legislative treatment of the Fiscal Innocence project, particularly whether the proposed changes are approved without modifications and how they impact taxpayer adherence. It will also be useful to monitor whether ARCA updates its procedures to apply the new thresholds and deadlines.