15% surcharge on foreign transactions on Argentine credit cards starting Sep 1

[cbphoto]

What I find also amazing.. Not a word on FB or any other social media from any of my (Argentine) friends about any of this. Just updating with party photos, weddings, baby picks...the usual...as if all is normal. Maybe they are banging on their pots and pans.. I am sure that should fix everything.....

 

[camberiu]

What I find also amazing.. Not a word on FB or any other social media from any of my (Argentine) friends about any of this. Just updating with party photos, weddings, baby picks...the usual...as if all is normal. Maybe they are banging on their pots and pans.. I am sure that should fix everything.....

Yep....That is why I use Google+.

 

[trennod]

Yep....That is why I use Google+.

You sure the reason isnt because you work for Google camberiu

 

[camberiu]

You sure the reason isnt because you work for Google camberiu

Absolutely not

 

[esllou]

What I find also amazing.. Not a word on FB or any other social media from any of my (Argentine) friends about any of this. Just updating with party photos, weddings, baby picks...the usual...as if all is normal. Maybe they are banging on their pots and pans.. I am sure that should fix everything.....

If Bill Hicks was still around, he'd say "Go back to bed, America. Your government has figured out how it all transpired. Go back to bed, America. Your government is in control again. Here. Here's Facebook. Watch this, shut up. Go back to bed, America. Here is Facebook."

 

[jimdepalermo]

And as far as I know, credit card statements don't include "articulos", just the store you bought from and the total. Would they know the difference between a restaurant and a shoe store?

The credit card companies do have a way to classify purchases by store. In my year-end summaries, they tell me how much was spent at clothing stores vs restaurants vs airlines, for example.

The truth is that I was expecting some sort of knee-jerk control on foreign purchases. We have had a good time for the last several months buying things abroad at 4,5 and paying in pesos that we bought for 6,2.

The 15% didn't bother me much, because I'll deduct it from taxes, and it still represents a huge discount on foreign purchases. The 50% surcharge over $300 presents a problem. I admit I've never declared anything on entry here, but I always assumed anything I imported would be taxed at the import tariff rather than a flat 50%. Then thinking about it, ex-Mercasur tariffs plus IVA probably average 50%, so in all likelihood it's a wash.

And that ends the foreign buying spree!

 

[sinagua980]

Now that even online foreign transactions will be assessed the 15% 'tax' I can already envision a new black market for paying someone 5% or 10% to use their non-Argentine credit/debit cards. Or maybe just among friends.

 

[solerboy]

Now that even online foreign transactions will be assessed the 15% 'tax' I can already envision a new black market for paying someone 5% or 10% to use their non-Argentine credit/debit cards. Or maybe just among friends.

At some point the governent are going to catch on to the fact that resident foreign nationals have access to foreign currency and credit.

I wonder what imaginative scheme they will come up with to tap in to this.

 

[citygirl]

Rich Argentines don't care. They have their savings in dollars and foreign accounts and credit cards to use when they're shopping overseas. Poor Argentines don't care - they're never going to be traveling overseas anyway.

Who gets screwed - the middle class of course.

I'm so incredibly baffled by how blase people here are about this stuff. I am more angry than anyone I talk to and it doesn't really even affect me.

 

[esllou]

If someone here used their Argie CC to buy an airline ticket online, from BA, United, etc...would that also be subject to the surcharge?