Regulation of the “Extraordinary Tax on Speculative Financial Operations”

On December 27, 2016 the Official Gazette published Law No. 27,346 by which the “Extraordinary Tax on Speculative Financial Operations “USD Futures Market Trades’” (the “Tax”) was created.[1] On July 14 the Resolution 4078-E (the “Resolution”) was published. By means of such Resolution, the Argentine Tax Authority (the “AFIP”) introduced some regulations regarding the assessment and payment of the tax obligation and allocation of the results obtained by this kind of operations to the corresponding fiscal year.

Sections 2 and 3 of the Resolution establish that taxpayers and other obligors for the payment of the Tax have to register all “future” financial operations whose underlying asset is foreign currency – even those generating negative results – and the resulting amounts that were accrued during the ongoing fiscal year by December 27, 2016 (legal entities) or that were collected during fiscal year 2016 (individuals and undivided inheritances).

Taxpayers and other obligors that are liable for payment of the Tax have to report to the AFIP the following information in relation to each operation: (i) the reason according to which the “future” agreements were signed, pursuant to certain options that the application created by the AFIP to pay the Tax established in advance; and (ii) the amount of the total or partial income/losses arising from the termination of said agreements. The mentioned application will then calculate the taxable basis and the Tax to be paid.

Regarding the allocation of income by legal entities to the respective fiscal year, the Resolution defines the notion of “accrual” as the instance in which  “future” agreements are concluded, in other words –as the Resolution states– the instance in which such agreements expire or are terminated early. For individuals and undivided successions, income is understood to be “collected” upon the expiration of the relevant agreement or its early termination.

Pursuant to section 5, the filing of the tax return and, if applicable, the payment of the Tax, should be made up to the dates set for filing and payment of the Argentine Income Tax, according to the schedule provided by the AFIP. That section also provides that if the expiration date for the filing and payment of Argentine Income Tax occurs before the entry into force of the Resolution, taxpayers have to file the tax returns and pay the Tax –if applicable– before June 28, 2017.

The Annex to the Resolution also provides for the definition of some notions related to the taxable event, the Tax basis and the payment of the Tax.

[1] For further information about structural matters of the tax, stablished by the Law No. 27,346, seer Marval News Edition No.168,  December 29, 2016, "Amendments introduced to the Argentine Tax Regime by Law No. 27,346".