The Argentine Government decided this Wednesday, November 17, that operations with cryptocurrencies pay the tribute to credits and debits in bank accounts, commonly known in the country as a “check tax.”
Punctually, in the Official bulletin It is detailed that the operations of purchase and sale of crypto assets, from bitcoin to ethereum or cardano, will not enjoy the exemptions provided for the movements of funds linked to the purchase, sale, exchange or any other operation on cryptocurrencies, digital currencies or instruments Similar”.
This also includes operations with stablecoins (stable currencies that trade at the same rate as the dollar), such as Tether or DAI, for example.
The measure falls on the operations of the Payment Service Providers (PSP), the technical name of the fintech companies and, in principle, not directly on the final buyers or sellers of cryptocurrencies.
Likewise, the increased cost of operations for intermediaries will influence a higher cost for retail users.
Bitcoin tax: objectives
The intention of the Argentine government with the “tax on bitcoin”, according to the norm, is “to be the roadmap for public policies towards a calmer economy, with more opportunities for everyone, together with the definition of a path sustainable fiscal in the medium term ”.
Although it is not explicit, it is speculated that the tax will fall on wallets or virtual wallets managed by exchanges. These platforms or applications allow you to send, receive and store bitcoin and other digital currencies.
A few days ago, a preliminary study carried out by the Taxpayer Defense Attorney (Prodecon) of Mexico, suggested that certain crypto-asset acquisition operations be applied an Income Tax (ISR) of 20 percent on the total value of transactions.
Specifically, those that exceed the limits set in the Federal Tax Code.
The document of the Prodecon It says that the withholding of taxes and payments would only apply when the amounts of the operations are greater than 227 thousand 400 pesos.
Prodecon also says that each crypto sale movement should be declared to the SAT and pay the corresponding tax, even if the money was kept on digital platforms (cryptocurrency exchanges) and the profits had not been transferred to bank accounts. .