Law N° 27.630, published in Argentina’s official gazette on 16 June 2021, replaces the previous 30% flat rate corporate income tax with a progressive rate system (ranging from 25% to 35%, depending on the band of income) for resident legal entities and Argentine permanent establishments of nonresident companies.
The applicable rate will depend on the taxpayer’s accumulated net income in the relevant fiscal year, as follows:
|
Accumulated net taxable profit |
Must pay (ARS) |
Plus % |
On the excess of (ARS) |
|
|
More than (ARS) |
Up to (ARS) |
|||
|
0 |
5 million |
0 |
25% |
0 |
|
5 million |
50 million |
1,250,000 |
30% |
5 million |
|
50 million |
|
14,750,000 |
35% |
50 million |
The progressive rates will be adjusted annually starting on 1 January 2022 to take account of changes in the consumer price index (CPI) provided by the National Institute of Statistics and Census and inflation. The adjustment will be made by reference to the CPI for the month of October of the year prior to the adjustment, as compared to the CPI for October of the year before that. (For example, the rate adjustment to be made in January 2022 will be determined by reference to the change in the CPI from October 2020 to October 2021.)
The revised rates will apply for financial years that begin after the update.
The legislation also clarifies that the withholding tax rate on dividend distributions will be a uniform 7% for all categories of income tax rates, including remittances by a permanent establishment to its head office. Clarification was necessary because of previous changes to the tax rules. Specifically, a law enacted in 2017 provided that the corporate income tax rate would be reduced from 35% to 30% for fiscal years started as from 1 January 2018, dropping further to 25% for fiscal years starting as from 1 January 2020. The rate reduction was accompanied by the re-introduction of the tax on dividends or profits distributed by Argentine companies at a rate of 7% when dividends/profits corresponded to corporate profits taxed at the 30% rate and 13% when they corresponded to corporate profits taxed at the 25% rate.
The new rules apply to fiscal periods or fiscal years started as of 1 January 2021.
Guillermo Jaime Poch
gpoch@bdoargentina.com
Alberto Fabián Mastandrea
amastandrea@bdoargentina.com