can Argentine subsidiary of US company pay foreign employee in USD$

[rcravago]

Hi,

Can an Argentine subsidiary of a US multinational company pay a foreign employee hired by that Argentine subsidiary in USD$ dollars? The foreign employee is from the US on a 1-yr work visa. Or is there an Argentine law that says all employees, foreign or local, must be paid in AR$ Argentine pesos only?

Is there a possibility of opening a USD$ dollar account at a foreign bank here (Citibank, HSBC) and having it direct deposited there? If that's possible, can the USD$ dollar account here transfer money to US bank accounts?

Has anyone experienced this case before? If so, what did you do?

thanks!

 

[MB Beagle]

Most ‘US multinational companies’ have rooms full of accounts and lawyers who job is answer these questions prior to an employee departing for another country. If the American employee is working for a multinational company, based in the US, and is ‘on loan’ to the Argentinean subsidiary they would have been unwise to accept local wages. If the employee received a work visa without realizing the pay schedule, that would be another naive oversight.
The law here is more confusing than Chinese crossword and being a foreigner, odds are even more stacked against the poor soul who accepted a job in Argentina, is being paid in pesos, and has a beef about it.
As for opening a US dollar account, without owning a business (which includes having known local partners), surmounts to another hopeless quest. Opening a US account anywhere in the world now for an American, is extremely difficult because of the newly created Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. Most banks will not grant you an account simply for the mountain of paperwork and records that are required by law to inform IRS of your business actives - not worth their time or headache.
Maybe spend all the money you make here, for it will be pretty worthless once you leave with it. Or cut your losses and quit. But remember: 'A happy employee is a productive employee'.

 

[citygirl]

I don't believe you can be paid in dollars. If you are working in Argentina for an Argentine company, it was my understanding per the corp lawyer that even if a contract may specify the salary amount in dollars, the employee must be paid in pesos at the official rate.

And no, you really can't get money out of Argentina.

You may want to see if your company will pay a portion of the salary in your home currency/country and a portion here. It's not technically legal (nor illegal either, it's a gray area) but given all the restrictions, it might be an option they/you should consider strongly.

 

[AndrewWoodward]

This really isn't an issue that should be answered by a message board. The company hiring should take care of this, and the person being hired should be knowledgeable, because if not, it's a clusterfuck.

I can't comment on your specific scenario, but I'd find it highly unlikely that you'd be able to open a temporary USD account here in Argentina. And, if some how you did, near impossible to get that money out of the country at the end.

I'd put a lot of thought in before anyone allowing any of their money to be kept in Argentina banks, especially on a one year basis. Unless someone is just looking for the experience, it's a disaster waiting to happen.