Latest news with #ManuelAdorni
LeMonde
2 days ago
- Business
- LeMonde
Argentina encourages citizens to use and deposit undeclared dollars
Dollars under the mattress: In Argentina, keeping savings outside the national banking system − whether hidden at home, in private vault companies, or abroad − and in US dollars is a deeply rooted habit. It stems from a long-standing mistrust of the peso's value and from trauma that dates to the 2001 financial crisis, when bank deposits were frozen and many savers managed to recover their money only with great difficulty and at a loss. The government led by the far-right libertarian Javier Milei, who has been in office since December 2023, sought to bring this money − estimated at $200 billion (roughly a third of Argentina's GDP) − into the banking system. "Your dollars, your decision," said presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni on May 22, as he announced a program called the "Historical Reparation Plan for Argentinians' Savings." The plan is set to take effect on Sunday, June 1, before being reinforced by a legislative proposal. According to Economy Minister Luis Caputo, the goal is to unlock a "pent-up consumption" of dollars. The core of the measures is to significantly raise the threshold at which banks and businesses must report transactions to the tax authorities. For example, the reporting threshold for a bank transfer has become 50 million pesos (about €37,000), up from the previous 1 million pesos (about €740).
Qatar Tribune
25-05-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Argentina aims to legalize billions of dollars in undeclared funds
Buenos AIRES: The libertarian government of Argentinian President Javier Milei aims to legalize billions of dollars in undeclared funds. Government spokesman Manuel Adorni announced that through a decree and a draft law, capital controls in the South American country are to be significantly relaxed. The goal is to encourage savers to bring their reserves, whether in cash or held abroad, back into the official economic system. 'We need more liquidity for the economy. If we achieve this, growth will be sustainable,' said Economy Minister Luis Caputo. A considerable part of the economy in Argentina operates outside the tax system. (DPA)
The Independent
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Argentina's Milei unveils bold plan to lure billions in undeclared dollars back home
Argentina's government on Thursday unveiled an ambitious scheme to bring billions of undeclared U.S. dollars tucked under mattresses or stashed in foreign bank accounts back into the crisis-prone country, as libertarian President Javier Milei seeks to boost Argentina's low international currency reserves and stimulate the limping economy. By eliminating tax reporting requirements, the plan invites savers — who long have swapped their depreciating pesos for American currency in the country's underground market — to spend unreported dollars on everyday transactions at home. The government won't ask questions regarding the source of the repatriated funds, officials promised. 'Your dollars, your decision. What's yours is yours, not the state's,' Milei's presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, said in a press conference announcing the policies. 'You can use them however you want, without having to prove where you got them from.' Milei — who ran on a controversial campaign pledge to 'dollarize' Argentina's troubled economy — wants a new gush of greenbacks to boost the volume of U.S. dollars in circulation. Although Argentina's depleted currency reserves sent Milei backpedaling from his initial campaign trail-fervor for 'burning down' the central bank and adopting the U.S. dollar as the national currency, these latest measures seek to hasten the country's transition to a new currency system that would see dollars gradually replacing pesos. Milei's 'endogenous dollarization' scheme would involve fixing the supply of the local currency even as Argentines could use dollars or pesos. He hopes this would encourage Argentines to use their dollar-denominated savings to buy houses and cars as the economy grows and more cash is needed in circulation. To lay the groundwork, Milei's government last year imposed a generous tax amnesty for Argentines willing to repatriate capital. In April, it lifted most currency controls as part of a $20 billion bail-out deal with the International Monetary Fund, which conditions its support on the government boosting its scarce foreign reserves. 'You can spend those dollars without anyone bothering you. So, you go, you want to buy, I don't know, a house for $200,000, no one has to ask you anything,' Milei told the TV channel of Argentine newspaper La Nacion in an interview Monday. Over decades of financial turmoil, Argentines have come to depend on U.S. dollars to evade a byzantine system of currency controls, hedge against hyperinflation and protect their nest eggs from government freezes, as has happened several times in the country's recent history, such as during the catastrophic 2001 foreign-debt default. 'This is how we reached a catastrophic outcome in which 50% of our economy ended up being informal, and the state, like Big Brother, controlled all of its citizens' transactions, as if they were criminals deserving of punishment,' Adorni said. Argentina's official statistics agency estimates that, as of late 2024, Argentine households and firms held more than $270 billion outside their financial system, largely denominated in U.S. currency. While most of the billions are in foreign bank accounts, a significant amount of cash is also stuffed under mattresses and floorboards and in rented safety deposit boxes in underground vaults across the country. 'Those who do this are not criminals,' Economy Minister Luis Caputo said Thursday. 'They are the vast majority of Argentines who have been abused by excessive taxes and controls. To encourage Argentines to spend their repatriated funds, the new measures scrap strict requirements for businesses and credit card providers to report citizens' purchases to ARCA, Argentina's equivalent of the IRS. They relax strict tax evasion rules so property buyers and public notaries won't need to report transactions. Banks won't be able to request access to clients' tax records. 'It sounds like an invitation not to pay taxes,' said Ignacio Labaqui, a Buenos Aires-based senior analyst at advisory firm Medley Global Advisors. That raises concerns about an injection of potentially dirty funds, some of which could be the product of illegal activity. Asked about the danger created by the new fiscal incentives, the IMF sounded a cautious note. 'The authorities have committed to strengthening financial transparency,' said Julie Kozack, an IMF spokesperson. 'Any new measures, including those that may be aimed at encouraging the use of undeclared assets, should be, of course, consistent with these important commitments.' ___
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Argentina's Milei unveils bold plan to lure billions in undeclared dollars back home
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina's government on Thursday unveiled an ambitious scheme to bring billions of undeclared U.S. dollars tucked under mattresses or stashed in foreign bank accounts back into the crisis-prone country, as libertarian President Javier Milei seeks to boost Argentina's low international currency reserves and stimulate the limping economy. By eliminating tax reporting requirements, the plan invites savers — who long have swapped their depreciating pesos for American currency in the country's underground market — to spend unreported dollars on everyday transactions at home. The government won't ask questions regarding the source of the repatriated funds, officials promised. 'Your dollars, your decision. What's yours is yours, not the state's,' Milei's presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, said in a press conference announcing the policies. 'You can use them however you want, without having to prove where you got them from.' Milei — who ran on a controversial campaign pledge to 'dollarize' Argentina's troubled economy — wants a new gush of greenbacks to boost the volume of U.S. dollars in circulation. Although Argentina's depleted currency reserves sent Milei backpedaling from his initial campaign trail-fervor for 'burning down' the central bank and adopting the U.S. dollar as the national currency, these latest measures seek to hasten the country's transition to a new currency system that would see dollars gradually replacing pesos. Milei's 'endogenous dollarization' scheme would involve fixing the supply of the local currency even as Argentines could use dollars or pesos. He hopes this would encourage Argentines to use their dollar-denominated savings to buy houses and cars as the economy grows and more cash is needed in circulation. To lay the groundwork, Milei's government last year imposed a generous tax amnesty for Argentines willing to repatriate capital. In April, it lifted most currency controls as part of a $20 billion bail-out deal with the International Monetary Fund, which conditions its support on the government boosting its scarce foreign reserves. 'You can spend those dollars without anyone bothering you. So, you go, you want to buy, I don't know, a house for $200,000, no one has to ask you anything,' Milei told the TV channel of Argentine newspaper La Nacion in an interview Monday. Over decades of financial turmoil, Argentines have come to depend on U.S. dollars to evade a byzantine system of currency controls, hedge against hyperinflation and protect their nest eggs from government freezes, as has happened several times in the country's recent history, such as during the catastrophic 2001 foreign-debt default. 'This is how we reached a catastrophic outcome in which 50% of our economy ended up being informal, and the state, like Big Brother, controlled all of its citizens' transactions, as if they were criminals deserving of punishment,' Adorni said. Argentina's official statistics agency estimates that, as of late 2024, Argentine households and firms held more than $270 billion outside their financial system, largely denominated in U.S. currency. While most of the billions are in foreign bank accounts, a significant amount of cash is also stuffed under mattresses and floorboards and in rented safety deposit boxes in underground vaults across the country. 'Those who do this are not criminals,' Economy Minister Luis Caputo said Thursday. 'They are the vast majority of Argentines who have been abused by excessive taxes and controls. To encourage Argentines to spend their repatriated funds, the new measures scrap strict requirements for businesses and credit card providers to report citizens' purchases to ARCA, Argentina's equivalent of the IRS. They relax strict tax evasion rules so property buyers and public notaries won't need to report transactions. Banks won't be able to request access to clients' tax records. 'It sounds like an invitation not to pay taxes,' said Ignacio Labaqui, a Buenos Aires-based senior analyst at advisory firm Medley Global Advisors. That raises concerns about an injection of potentially dirty funds, some of which could be the product of illegal activity. Asked about the danger created by the new fiscal incentives, the IMF sounded a cautious note. 'The authorities have committed to strengthening financial transparency,' said Julie Kozack, an IMF spokesperson. 'Any new measures, including those that may be aimed at encouraging the use of undeclared assets, should be, of course, consistent with these important commitments.' ___ Associated Press writers Almudena Calatrava and Debora Rey in Buenos Aires, Argentina, contributed to this report.
Reuters
22-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Argentina clears roadblocks to use stashed-away dollars
May 22 (Reuters) - Argentine President Javier Milei is set to sign a decree in coming hours meant to lure out millions of dollars in cash squirreled away by residents who had long held onto the currency in a hedge against the Latin American nation's erratic economy, his spokesman Manuel Adorni said on Thursday. Now, Argentines will be able to use dollars without declaring where they came from, Adorni added.
