One week before the entry into force of the new interest rates applied to debts linked to AFIP, the Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (CAME) asked the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputo, which excludes small and medium-sized businesses from these new adjustments.
“At the time of tax due, the SME checks whether or not it has the funds to meet the payment. If you don’t have them, the only solution is to go into default with the collection agency,” said CAME president Alfredo González.
With Resolution 3/2024, the Ministry of the Nation’s Economy intends to prevent non-compliant taxpayers from financing their activities through non-compliance with taxes, restoring, for this purpose, an automatic updating system.
“This premise is wrong when it comes to MSMEs”CAME specifies “To finance themselves, large companies make a comparison between the rate applied by AFIP and bank rates. This method is not used by SMEs, because they do not have the possibility of having quick and simple access to bank credit”.
In CAME they highlighted that although the new rates are lower than expected monthly inflation, The impact will be strong for small and medium-sized businesses.
What will be the new compensatory and punitive interests applied by AFIP?
AFIP has taken out of the freezer the fees it charges its taxpayers for late compliance. Starting in February, the Agency will update the compensatory, punitive and tax recovery interest rates. Furthermore, he announced that this will then be adjusted every two months.
Through resolution 3/2024, published in the Official Journal, the organization chaired by Florencia Misrahi has increased, starting from February 1st, the rates of compensatory, punitive and tax recovery interests that AFIP will charge and establishes a system of bimonthly update.
According to the recitals of the provision, the Ministry of Economy appropriate rates to encourage timely cancellation of obligations AND prevent non-compliant taxpayers from financing themselves their activities through non-compliance with taxes, re-establishing, for this purpose, an automatic updating scheme.
The new rates are still below December and January inflation, but they are less negative for taxpayers. Specifically, the resolution establishes that “the monthly compensatory interest rate, in force in each two-month period, will be equal to 1.3 times the effective monthly active rate of current account overdrafts not previously requested from the Banco de la Nación Argentina, in force on the twentieth (20th) day of the month immediately preceding the beginning of the aforementioned two-month period.”
Tax expert Sebastián Domínguez, director general of SDC Asesores Tributarios, said this would bring the compensatory interest rate to just over 15% monthly
On the other hand, the monthly punitive interest rate “shall be equivalent to one point five (1.5) times the effective monthly active rate of bank overdrafts not previously requested at the Banco de la Nación Argentina, effective on the twentieth (20 ) of the month immediately preceding the start of the aforementioned two-month period. This, according to Domínguez’s calculations, implies a monthly rate of 18%.
Finally, the body has established that the interest rate applicable to the repetition of taxes and to cases of refund, reimbursement or compensation of taxes, “will be the effective monthly rate resulting from the consideration of the average of the rate published by the Central Bank of the Republic of Argentina in section “Interest Rates for 30-day Deposits in Financial Institutions” for the thirty (30) day period ending on the twentieth (20th) of the month immediately preceding the beginning of the aforementioned two-month period.
This is The rate went from fixed, less than 4% monthly, to variable, which today represents 9.1%. In this regard, Domínguez underlined: “Without a doubt, the rates in force until January 31, 2024 are negative real rates, very far from current inflation. This induces taxpayers, in many cases, to finance themselves through payment plans that grant from AFIP or even not pay since the cost of late payments is low and affects public finances.
“However, the current economic context and the high tax pressure that exists in Argentina causes many taxpayers to be unable to meet their obligations And a nearly threefold increase in compensatory interest could hit them even more,” the specialist added.
SN
Source: Clarin
