“Deadlines are running out, after many months of back and forth in Congress, we already have deadlines so Important decisions must be made very quickly, always with an eye on the family, fiscal and financial planning strategy.”. This is what the accountant says Elizabeth Piacentini Regarding the latest measures approved in the field of Money laundering, moratorium and modification of the personal property tax.
The CEO of the Piacentini Accounting Firm, in dialogue with Ambitreferred to What issues should SMEs and self-employed workers consider in order not to miss out on the opportunities offered by these measures? Piacentini is the president of the Committee on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises at the Professional Council of Economic Sciences and of the Business Chamber of Villa del Parque. She also heads the Women Entrepreneurs sector of the Federation of Commerce and Industry of the City of Buenos Aires (FECOBA).
Elisabeth Piacentini: The deductible for this money laundering is 100,000 dollars for each family. If what I want to launder are cash dollars that were in the mattress, that did not generate income for me, I must deposit them in a special account opened in my bank (CERA, Special Account for Asset Regularization). I will be able to withdraw them freely on October 1, 2024, transferring them to my dollar account to then invest or use as I wish.
Q: How is the concept of family group interpreted in order to use that deductible and thus not have to pay?
EP: These are considered to be the family members who are dependent on the taxpayer. If the child is already married, for example, this is considered to be a separate family.
Q: What advantage do I have when bleaching?
EP: All unpaid taxes are forgiven and the tax cap is accessed: the AFIP will not be able to question the origin or use of that money, which is very useful for closing some ongoing inspections.
Q: What happens to cryptocurrencies and virtual wallets that have been accumulating abroad because they cannot be brought into the country?
EP: All balances left in virtual wallets and undeclared cryptocurrencies can be whitened. This is a way to include them in the whitening for balances as of 12/31/2023, and then be able to use them freely to buy goods, real estate, cars or continue investing in that modality.
Q: Why is it important to decide quickly whether to bleach or not?
EP: Because there are three very different stages, only in the first stage can cash be laundered, the first 100,000 dollars are free of charge and anything exceeding that amount pays 5% as a laundering tax, if you move on to the second stage, that percentage rises to double: 10%.
Q: What is the option to launder more than $100,000 and not pay the money laundering tax?
EP: If money balances exceeding 100,000 dollars are laundered, I pay nothing if I leave them invested in the laundering account until 31/12/2025. To have income during that time, the AFIP has established a series of funds, securities and negotiable obligations where investments can be made to generate income, including in real estate projects.
Q: If I have a portfolio abroad that I had not declared and I enter it into the money laundering process, do I have to bring the funds into the country?
EP: No, you can launder your assets by leaving them where they are invested. If you enter the first stage of laundering, you will be charged 5% on the minimum of 100,000 until 30/9/24.
Q: Can I launder my SME’s merchandise, credits, and payments to construction trusts?
EP: Yes, there is a very wide range of assets that can be laundered.
Q: On what date should I declare the assets for money laundering?
EP: The date of disclosure of assets was left far behind due to so much discussion of the law, the assets must be declared at the value they had on 12/31/2023. It must be analyzed what happened in those accounts to be cleared in 2024. In Macri’s whitewashing, the date of the day of the law itself was taken as the date.
Q: How is money laundering paid for?
EP: In dollars, it is new, everything is valued in dollars at the official exchange rate as of 12/31/2023, so there is no loss due to how the dollar value is taken, which is taken at $1,000.
Q: In summary, do you think that this money laundering is convenient for SMEs?
EP: Yes, absolutely. In addition to being an economic laundering, with a very low rate in the first stage and a high deductible on which nothing is paid, many years ago there was no laundering of all types of assets like this, so SMEs can externalize assets or cash and put them to work producing and generating income immediately.
Q: With so many reforms, were any taxes removed?
EP: Yes, the Real Estate Transfer Tax (ITI), which was applied when a property purchased before 2018 was sold, was 1.5%. Now, that transaction does not pay anything.
Moratorium
Q: Is a moratorium advisable?
EP: Yes, everything owed to the AFIP must be reviewed, 70% of the interest and all other penalties are forgiven. The largest discount is also given if you enter the first stage.
Q: What do you think about the 5-year advance payment of personal property tax?
EP: We can say that it is an offer made by the AFIP. Personal property tax is paid in advance for 5 years, including the year 2023, at a rate much lower than those in the rate table.
And no advances are filed or paid until 2027, even if the amount of assets increases. The best thing is that the law itself ensures fiscal stability until 2038, ensuring that no new taxes will be imposed on assets.
Source: Ambito
