Paper Trail

[TomAtAlki]

There is a lot of conversation on this forum about changing money on the "blue market". When you bring money into the country and change money on the blue market there is no paper trail. When a person is in the country for several months, changes several thousand dollars, pays bills, property taxes, travels, and lives here but shows no money changing does AFIP call you one day and say "are you earning pesos (from a job or rental income) and not declaring it, are you bringing money in and changing it on the blue (black) market. In general, where are you getting your pesos."

My question is whether AFIP has ever followed up with anyone on this forum or have you heard of any problems with AFIP re money.

Thanks

 

[Joe]

In this case you would be off the radar of the authorities. I don't think the authorities have the technology to track you down in this circumstance.

I also can't imagine many people bringing in more than 1 or 2 months of cash for living expenses due to the risk of theft. I certainly wouldn't.

 

[Sleuth]

I'd say a lot of people on this site are on tourist visas, and thus have no worries about having to show anything to AFIP or pay property taxes. They're completely off the radar.

If you're a resident and need to file your taxes with AFIP, then you already need to declare your worldwide income as well as pay bienes personales on your assets (including money in foreign accounts). In the event of an audit, I'd assume your declared income should line up with your expenses. You're legally able to bring in up to $10,000 in cash, and that should have technically already been declared as income or assets.

Here's the things that I know of that are reported to AFIP:

• anyone paying health insurance of more than $2000/month
• anyone paying expensas of more than $2000/month
• purchase on Argentine credit cards (above some amount?)
• grocery store purchase of more than $1000 (they break up the bills so this never happens)
• real estate purchase - have to prove source of the funds
• automobile purchase - have to prove source of the funds
• sale of used items - as of January 1 to be reported to AFIP for certain items (see this article)
• earning a salary in Argentina

I'm sure there's more than this too. Most of these came about in the last year and are all designed to help track down those cheating on their taxes by under-reporting their income.

 

[French jurist]

When I was a permatourist, I went to the AFIP branch in Pilar because I wanted to pay taxes. I told the lady at the desk: I'm French but I live here since many years, I work for a foreign company that pays me in dollars and I want to pay taxes.

She got a bit surprised (I guess it's not that often she sees people coming in to ask to pay income taxes, lol). She called one of the managers (or the manager) who took me to his office. I explained again my situation and my wish to pay taxes. His speech was like: "but why do you want to pay taxes?!", "don't act like a fool and keep staying under the radar!". That was quite funny to hear.

As far as now, never heard of any permatourist having such problems but if problems were to arise some day, it would rather happen in Capital than in the province of BA (much more control in the Capital while 95/98% of the small shops around my house in the province never provide a receipt, etc.).

I guess AFIP has already enough work with Argentineans.
Furthermore, if a tourist doesn't own any property in Argentina, it would be difficult to shave a bald guy (on the other hand, if a property is owned here, the risk is of course much higher).

 

[TomAtAlki]

Hypothetically speaking......a person could be on a tourist visa, own an apartment and pay property taxes (yearly street and garbage, and yearly property taxes). Any chance of AFIP coming along and saying, "where did those pesos come from?" Has this ever happened that anyone knows about.

And as an aside, Frenchie, can I assume you were the "French Jurist"?m

 

[French jurist]

Yop that's me.

Indeed this could happen (but has this happened to forum members?).
Danger could be when you resell the property & prove you've been living in the house to avoid paying the yearly tax percentage on real estate owned by foreigners... Then a well inspired AFIP agent could tell you "then if you've been living in Argentina, then you must have paid income taxes?". As for this risk occuring in real life, I've no clue about the probabilities. But that would be a second method the AFIP could use.

 

[citygirl]

If you're paying in cash - it's not as though they can prove it via credit card receipts. I don't even get a receipt from 90% of the stores/shops/service providers/whatever around here. Everything is on a cash-basis.