Two announcements, made simultaneously and with a direct focus on the fintech market, set off the alarms of Argentine consumers
The Federal Administration of Public Revenue (AFIP) announced that it is about to publish a resolution whose objective is to implement the tax on electronic payments, plus the withholding of VAT and Income.
To this was added the new regime of retention on Gross Revenue of the Buenos Aires Collection Agency (ARBA), which will reach digital payment platforms.
These measures will match services with banks and credit and debit card operators, marking the end of certain "comparative advantages" of online payment services.
It is not a minor movement. Virtual wallets increasingly gain place in the "pockets" of Argentine users, not only because of their immediacy, but also because of the agility in payments.
It is a millionaire business, with no roof in sight: only Mercado Pago, to mention a case, accumulated US $ 5.6 billion in transactions during the first quarter of the year. Although the number includes its operations in Latin America, it is a faithful demonstration of the enormous potential of this segment.
Therefore, the measures faced by the collection agents of Nation and Province, far from surprising, were received almost as a truism truth. The questions, however, did not wait: will the new taxes imply an increase in purchases via digital?
In Argentina
The AFIP prepares two major measures to balance the balance between fintech and traditional banking. The first is the withholding of VAT and earnings on digital operations carried out by companies other than MSMEs; that is, those that invoice more than 24 million pesos.
The second measure is the implementation of the Check Tax in these virtual channels, but with an important caveat: only legal persons will be reached. This means that there will be no impact on the operations carried out by final consumers.
In this way, purchases in shops and other minor operations are exempt from the measure.
"In the case of withholdings, it will be implemented to level the digital with the rest of the financial system. It was a request from the banks that will lead to ensuring tax equity," AFIP sources tell iProUP.
From the agency they clarify that this announcement will be made official through a general resolution. The Check Tax, on the other hand, must be issued by a decree of the Executive Power.
According to AFIP, "what the Government is going to do is include as a subject obliged to pay this tax to transactions with virtual wallets made between companies." This, they clarify, does not affect the "walking user".
"It seeks to avoid a tax avoidance mechanism, because many times companies used two virtual wallet accounts to make operations, so as to avoid paying the Check Tax," they add from the collecting entity.
Digital banks were aware that, sooner or later, measures of these characteristics were to be implemented. Although "adding taxes" is not usually considered good news, off the record, some industry leaders say that its impact is not of general scope.
A similar look is felt in the Argentine Chamber of Fintech. Its president, Juan Pablo Bruzzo, explains to iProUP: "We are convinced that digital payments are a key tool for financial inclusion and for the formalization of the economy. And as such, we believe that they should have tax benefits that promote their use , to the detriment of the use of cash. "
However, he emphasizes that "the announcements he made to AFIP would impact only companies or individuals that register high transactionality." Leaving millions of Argentines out of the equation is, in broad strokes, a breath of fresh air for an industry that grows "at Chinese rates."
In Province
The resolution of ARBA, on the other hand, generated many more doubts among companies, consumers and even taxpayers.
Strictly speaking, regulatory resolutions 19 and 20 published in the Official Gazette of the province of Buenos Aires stipulate that "taxpayers who provide services to facilitate the management, processing, aggregation or grouping of payments, whether to receive them or make them on account and order from third parties, through digital platforms, websites, interfaces, computer applications and other electronic systems, must act as retention agents. "
According to Gastón Fossati, director of ARBA, "the measure seeks to optimize the work of tax administration in Gross Income, adapting it to technological changes and new business and consumption modalities, which have generated a notable growth in electronic transactions."
In this regard, he added that the new system "will enable more efficient control of tax evasion on digital platforms. These services will be treated similarly to the rest of the sectors of the economy, which will strengthen equity and reduce informality."
In this way, the companies that will act as retention agents will have until August 31 to enroll in ARBA.
On the other hand, account withholdings will also reach people who sell through these platforms and are not part of the Gross Income register.
In these cases, the perception will be made to those domiciled in the province and perform five or more operations during the current year, for a total of $ 25,000 or more.
From ARBA they emphasize to iProUP that "there should not be in any way a transfer of the tax to the end user because, precisely, it is a payment on account of the gross income tax".
In this regard, they indicate that, today, the agency "has no record or information on the movements of digital platforms, which creates a situation of inequality with, for example, credit or debit card companies."
From the Buenos Aires collection entity they clarify that these services "do not have any type of retention". Therefore, they must register as collection agents, which is a new legal figure.
They also stress that the move is simply "a formalization of the chain that puts these companies on an equal footing with credit cards and banks." Again, the official voices agree: what is sought is to provide similar game rules to fintech and banks.
The reception of the news in the companies was ambivalent. Asked by iProUP, two of the largest in the sector asked to "see the fine print of the ad" before making any type of statement.
Mercado Libre, meanwhile, brought tranquility to its users. Marcos Galperín's company was already a receiving agent for national organizations and several provincial organizations; and from the norm, also of ARBA.
For the largest company in the country, it simply "lacked the regulations" to be registered in the province.
Similar is the case with Red Link and its ValePei wallet. Jorge Larravide CCO of the company, clarifies to iProUP that the ARBA ads "do not change the current at all", at least in regard to its products.
"We must bear in mind that there are different models of wallets. There are those associated with virtual accounts (CVU) such as Mercado Pago, and those that are PEI (Immediate Electronic Payment), which are associated with CBU because they use bank accounts," explains the executive .
In that line, he emphasizes that "the one that Link owns is PEI, with which the tax issue already fell on the bank account".
Regarding this issue, from the Argentine Chamber of Fintech they think "along the same lines" as with the "AFIP case": although they advocate a reduction in taxes, they consider that these regulations will not have an impact on end users.
Criticisms, on the other hand, come from the side of the tributarists. Gross Revenue is a tax that does not usually have a good reputation, and the expansion in its implementation instead of a contraction, generates distrustful looks.
For César Litvin, CEO at Estudio Lisicki, Litvin & Asoc, the collection of a tax advance on digital platforms "generates concern" since, above all things "Gross Income has generated many inconveniences in the economy. It is a tax, distortive, toxic and medieval. "
For the specialist, rather than empowering the industry, it is a brake. "Gross revenue is an enemy of competitiveness," he adds, and considers that, for now, it is difficult to project the impact of the measure since it will depend entirely on the market.
In the same tuning, Iván Sasovsky, founder of the Sasovsky & Asoc study declares: "The creation of retention regimes for digital payment platforms is purely for collection purposes, and seeks to match the treatment to which banks are obliged."
The taxpayer adds that, "from that logic, a negative leveling is taking place, since these types of early tax collection regimes should not exist, or at least should not continue to increase."
For Sasovsky, "the collection of the Gross Income Tax through withholdings made on bank movements has nothing to do with the true taxable base of a taxpayer. The amount collected and payments does not show tax capacity."
In a country where tax pressure exceeds 30% of GDP, according to international entities such as the OECD and ECLAC, all regulations that emerge and add fiscal burden to businesses are seen as a threat.
It happened a few months ago with the Sirtac regime, which proposed the early payment of the cards, in a year of recession and a drop in consumption.
Now the combo of Gross Income and Check Tax is added, two concepts that enjoy little sympathy but, a priori, will not impact the pocket of Argentinians already accustomed to digital payments.
For now, the fintech breathe and the banks have won a new battle in the leveling of both markets. Users, meanwhile, hope that the measures do not affect their burdensome domestic economies, in which each peso adds up, and much.
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