The tax pressure of the National Government In Argentina it rose 2.46 percentage points between 2004 and 2024, Despite the abundant regulations that was issued during those years, according to a report prepared by the Center for Tax Studies (CET) of the Universidad Austral.
The CET presented a new report on fiscal legislationin which it analyzes the evolution of national tax provisions between 2002 and 2024.
“The analysis emphasizes that, except in the first government of Cristina Kirchner, most of the norms in recent 20 years were oriented to relieve the tax burden. However, according to the CET, these measures had a limited effect.
In that sense, he points out that “These are accessory settings in a scheme that maintains high levels of tax pressure.”
“The load reduction since 2016 did not modify the substantive situation, since it only decreased 3.1%”, The report concluded. But if it is measured between 2004 and 2024 the load is higher. 20 years ago it was 20.26% while last year it was 22.68%.
The report is only focused on the tax pressure of national taxes that usually range between 25% and 23% according to the years. It is to remember that the Tax pressure is measured as the relationship between collection and GDP, from which different combinations may arise. If the economy falls, for example, and tax collection remains the pressure, and instead, in an economy that grows can lower if the same level of income is maintained.
Basically, Tax pressure does not have to do directly with the aliquots which is charged for each tax (which is called legal tax pressure) but what is collected with that. If there is fiscal evasion, for example, less money enters the treasury, and the effective pressure is lower, Although the tax burden on them pays is greater.
The study, prepared by economists Diego Rivas and Lucio Cardinale-Lagomarsino, reveals that The last nine years were the periods of greatest normative broadcast, with a peak in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. On average, 54 standards were issued per year, but the governments of Mauricio Macri (78), Alberto Fernández (86) and Javier Milei (64 in his first year) They exceeded that number.
“The proliferation of regulations is a reflection of a Tax system characterized by marches and countermarkers. From 2016, the volume of provisions increased And, although many seek to reduce The fiscal burden does not alter structural complexity or high tax pressure which characterizes Argentina, ”Rivas explained.
The report details that taxes More affected were the income tax, VAT and social security contributions, with a clear predominance of the first in the last decade.
Although, except for some exceptions, Arca is the agency that issues most of the regulations, there is a change in the actors that accompany it in the generation of regulations: Between 2003 and 2009, the Legislative Power prevailed, from 2010 onwards, the National Executive Power (PEN) went on to occupy a central role.
“The greatest prominence of the Executive Power in Tax Matter is a relevant fact: while the laws lose weight, the decrees of the Pen YLAs arca resolutions gain prominence. This raises questions about institutional quality and the principle of tax legality, ”said Cardinale-Lagomarsino.
Source: Ambito
