The bill that proposes to create a “National Fund for the cancellation of the debt with the IMF” with money fled abroad, presented with the signature of the majority of the bloc of the front of allwill begin to be debated this Wednesday in a plenary session of Commissions of the Chamber of Senators.
The legislators of the commissions of General Legislation and of Budget and Treasury They were summoned for the meeting scheduled from 3:00 p.m. in the Blue Room of the Legislative Palace.
The senators will have in view two files presented last week and that the Together for Change interblock has already announced that it will reject.
These are Bills 535 and 536 of 2022. The first creates the National Fund for the Cancellation of Debt with the International Monetary Fund and the second modifies Law 21,526 on Financial Entities, to update and modify the exceptions in matters of banking, stock market and tax secrecy.
The project that creates the National Fund for the Cancellation of Debt with the IMF establishes that it be constituted in foreign currency, US dollars and its resources.
The validity of the Fund will be until the total cancellation of the debt with the IMF, or until the term established by the Executive Power.and its resources will be exclusively destined for this purpose and must contemplate the amounts foreseen or reserved for the incentives to the collaborators that contribute to identify evaders.
Holds the text that the fund will be administered and managed by the Ministry of Economyand the process of control, inspection and supervision of its management will be carried out by the Permanent Bicameral Commission for Monitoring and Control of the Management of Contracting and Payment of the Foreign Debt of the Congress.
The initiative states that the contribution of money laundering “will not represent a new tax burden for the majority of Argentinessince it will only be up to those who have assets abroad and are evading taxes or laundering money to pay.
Those reached by this contribution must make a contribution of 20% of their undeclared assetsportion that must be paid in dollars.
The project indicates that “in the case of declaring the assets after six months of the entry into force of the law, the rate will rise to 35%”, and adds that those who do not comply with the payment of this contribution “run the risk of have a prison sentence”, as stipulated by current law.
The ruling party senators also propose using the figure of the “collaborator“, which will apply to those who facilitate the discovery of undeclared assets.
Both natural persons and banking entities may collaborate, and they will be released from any confidentiality agreement with the evader, as established in the second file.
Those who help to this end will be rewarded with up to 30% of what is obtained for the information provided.
The initiative modifies the exceptions to banking, stock market and fiscal secrecy, which would allow the prosecutors in charge of the investigation of the case not to have to wait for the authorization of a judge to access that information.
From the opposition, and through a press release, the decision to reject the project was anticipated.
According to Together for Change, the project “has the clear intention of diverting public attention from the serious political crisis that is corroding the Front of All and its inability to address the urgent issues that affect millions of Argentines.”
“This initiative promoted by the ruling party is covert money laundering disguised as populism, because it starts at 20% instead of the 35% established by current regulations. If we add to this the 30% of what is collected for the figure of the ‘Collaborator’, income to the fund would be reduced to 14%. All this regardless of the origin of the funds, thus being able to launder money from corruption or other criminal activities,” said the opponents.
