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Buenos Aires: On Friday, a one-time tax that includes the wealthiest people came into effect in Argentina, aimed at financing the purchase of medical supplies related to Covid-19, in addition to helping small businesses affected by the epidemic.
The Senate passed a law in December by a majority of 42 to 26, imposing a tax on people whose assets exceed 200 million pesos (about 2.3 million dollars).
The center-left government headed by Alberto Fernandez hopes to raise about $ 3 billion from this tax, which will affect 12,000 wealthy people of Argentina’s 44 million people, 40 percent of whom live below the poverty line.
From Friday, the national tax authority can calculate the amounts owed by the taxpayers and claim them.
Under the law, those subject to tax pay 3.5 percent on declared assets in the country and 5.25 percent on assets abroad.
The proceeds will be used to purchase medical equipment, aid small and medium enterprises, finance social assistance and provide gas for people not connected to the network.
The opposition center-right parties criticized this measure, describing it as a “confiscation” of funds, while other sectors expressed their fear that the tax would become permanent.
Argentina is one of the countries most affected by the Corona virus, as it recorded 1.9 million infections and more than 47,000 deaths.
The epidemic has exacerbated poverty in a country that has been stagnant since 2018, with an unemployment rate of 11.7 percent.
And on Monday, Oxfam said in its annual report on economic inequality that the ten richest people in the world “compensated for their losses from Covid-19 in nine months, while the poorest may take more than a decade to recover.”
The report said that “the ten richest people in the world have collectively increased their fortunes by half a trillion dollars since the outbreak of the epidemic, which is more than enough to secure Covid-19 vaccines for everyone.”
Oxfam considered that “progressive taxes” on the wealthy are the key to a fair recovery from the crisis, noting that Argentina “paved the way” through the temporary solidarity wealth tax.
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