Argentina’s ultimatum to crypto investors – Declare or face penalties!

• Argentina crypto law requests for holders to declare their assets.
• Holders will receive exemption from special tax.

The Argentine government on 30th June resolved to drop the tax for crypto in the controversial omnibus bill. According to the bill, taxpayers had to declare the ownership of undeclared assets, including cryptocurrencies.

However, in a turn of events, the government has now announced that cryptocurrency holders must declare their ownership of such assets or face sanctions for tax evasion.

Argentina’s new crypto law

The Argentine government has regulated Law No 27,743 of the fiscal package. According to the law, those who own Bitcoin [BTC] and other cryptocurrencies will apply for a tax exemption if they declare their assets to the government.

Cryptocurrency holders who declare their actions will avoid legal prosecution over evasion, while those with $100k worth of crypto tokens will enjoy tax exemption from paying a special tax.

Per the official gazette, individuals and institutional taxpayers with cryptocurrencies will be exempted from paying specific taxes, and civil penalties will be avoided after declaring ownership.

Notably, cryptocurrencies must be held within the country through exchange platforms registered by the National Securities Commission. Thus, those holding cryptocurrencies on platforms registered by the government will qualify for the exemption. –

Cryptocurrency as alternative amidst high inflation

In recent years, Argentina has experienced extreme annual inflation of 271%. The current inflation rate is among the highest in the world.

The heightened inflation has pushed many people to use cryptocurrencies as an alternative to local currencies. Such crypto that have become a store of value and means to escape inflation are the stablecoins, especially Tether’s USDT.

However, the rush to own cryptocurrencies among Argentinians has come with added risk. Accordingly, digital asset holders must pay a considerable premium to obtain stablecoins, which adds up to 40% in cost.

Undoubtedly, the new crypto laws will have a massive impact on the local crypto community. Firstly, declaring the ownership of digital assets such as crypto will come with additional taxes.

The exemption from special tax only applies to undeclared assets; thus, those who declare their tokens will still pay more taxes.

More taxes will affect crypto holdings financially and reduce their economic participation because of higher costs. Equally, foreign  entities might avoid investments in the country over higher operational costs.