Buenos Aires is introducing a new taxation framework that will hit freelancers and stores receiving crypto with a 6% gross income tax when sold. Analysts state that, while the tax brings more clarity, it also goes against adoption.
Buenos Aires Clarifies Crypto Taxation, but Analysts Still Complain
The city of Buenos Aires is clarifying the taxation laws on crypto, issuing a new framework that details a 6% gross income tax on these assets. The new tax will be applied to entities or citizens receiving crypto and then selling it, implementing a 6% levy on the spread between the price when received and the price when sold.
Also, companies offering mining and custody services will pay 4% over the gross income derived from these operations.
While some analysts claim that this new taxation framework improves upon the previous one by providing clarity to companies and individuals, others argue that the new rules are regressive.
Juan Manuel Scarso, a local crypto analyst, told Iproup:
They want to present the preservation of a recessive, retrograde, and anti-investment tax as something moderate and convenient. It is not, and we continue against the world trend.
This local tax scheme contributes to the growing number of taxes that the crypto industry and its users must comply with in Argentina. Some exchanges have even called it a crisis, stressing the tough times the industry is facing in the country.
Julian Colombo, General Manager at Bitso Argentina, stated that all these taxes complicated the operation of these companies in the country. “All companies are working to get organized in the face of the new CNV regulations, and at the same time, we face a series of tax burdens that translate into higher costs for users and less investment in the country,” Colombo asseverated.
While Buenos Aires opened to crypto payments, allowing citizens to pay municipal taxes and other duties with digital currencies, this new taxation scheme might affect the city’s objective of becoming a “world leader in crypto,” as Jorge Macri, its head, declared in August.