Potentially Moving to Argentina

[Pianosteve]

I cannot see how someone with good foreign income can willingly subject himself to Argentinian taxation. Tourists stamps for as long as possible then settle nearby where foreign income is not taxed.

Does the new tax include taxes on UK pensions (government and private)? I'm a bit confused as to what taxes I will pay on the standard UK pension and a small occupational pension when I move to BA.

 

[Johnny]

Does the new tax include taxes on UK pensions (government and private)? I'm a bit confused as to what taxes I will pay on the standard UK pension and a small occupational pension when I move to BA.

Talk with a tax expert. Do NOT go by what you read on this forum.

 

[Alby]

Does the new tax include taxes on UK pensions (government and private)? I'm a bit confused as to what taxes I will pay on the standard UK pension and a small occupational pension when I move to BA.

There is no "new " tax. There are changes to existing taxes. If you are yet a temporary (migration) resident in Argentina, you will not be liable for any taxes until you have become one and then completed twelve months of temporary residency. Then, if you are from the UK, you may find you are protected from paying tax on the pensions you mention by article 18 of the UK Argentina double taxation agreement:

https://assets.publishing.service.g...data/file/498342/argentina-dtc_-_in_force.pdf

Those of us who believe we are in the happy position of having double taxation treaty protection have to make a decision at the point we become taxpayers in Argentina (i.e., at the point we complete 12 months of temporary (migration) residency): do we lie low, or do we "surface" as taxpayers before the taxation authority (AFIP) each year to complete a tax declaration and test our protection under the tax treaty (which would not doubt be the technically correct thing to do). You will need to get a local tax adviser to tell you what the best approach is in your case. (The tax treaty might give you protection from tax on your pension income, but not from other imposts, such as assets taxes).

 

[desde_Holanda]

There is no "new " tax. There are changes to existing taxes. If you are yet a temporary (migration) resident in Argentina, you will not be liable for any taxes until you have become one and then completed twelve months of temporary residency. Then, if you are from the UK, you may find you are protected from paying tax on the pensions you mention by article 18 of the UK Argentina double taxation agreement:

https://assets.publishing.service.g...data/file/498342/argentina-dtc_-_in_force.pdf

Those of us who believe we are in the happy position of having double taxation treaty protection have to make a decision at the point we become taxpayers in Argentina (i.e., at the point we complete 12 months of temporary (migration) residency): do we lie low, or do we "surface" as taxpayers before the taxation authority (AFIP) each year to complete a tax declaration and test our protection under the tax treaty (which would not doubt be the technically correct thing to do). You will need to get a local tax adviser to tell you what the best approach is in your case. (The tax treaty might give you protection from tax on your pension income, but not from other imposts, such as assets taxes).

As far as I know, (and at least for me) it seems to be better to stay taxable NOT in Argentina. Of course taxes need to be paid on the ownership of the house in BA, but being taxed over income and assets in Argentina seems very unattractive, e.g. because of the low threshold for the highest income tax bracket and the relatively heavy taxation on worldwide assets when being a tax resident in ARG.
Of course preventing this requires an official residency (plus home!) in the other country....

 

[Goata]

Hi Forum Members.

My wife and I are looking into moving to Argentina from South Africa. We are looking to make a lifestyle change largely as a response to increasingly difficult living conditions in South Africa. We are specifically looking at Mendoza province. My wife is Argentinian and we have family in Mendoza but want to find out from some of the expats around here what Argentina is like at the moment. Its not that we don't trust what they are saying, I would just like to get a few extra opinions from people on the ground. What is the economy and currency situation like at the moment? How do you bring your currency in?

Some additional details:

If we move we will pretty much have a small finca or will buy one.
We will both have online jobs.
Likely to be bringing two pets.
We visited Argentina last year prior to COVID for a month and fell in love with the place.

Any replies are welcome. Thanks!

I am an American who works half the year in NY and I live in Durego, Mendoza, 10 blocks from the city center Mendoza with my Argentine wife the other half. Getting money in is tricky, My wife and I brought the maximum allowed in cash on our return trips to Arg. when we were house hunting and stashed it in a safety deposit box but when we were buying our house I had to transfer money through a bank and paid a 5 or 6% vig on it.
I have since gotten my Argentine residency and can transfer money from "my" american back account to "my" Argentine bank account for a low fee, maybe 1% or so. I never tested the limits of what I could bring in as I often travel back and forth and bring back money but was in Arg. for a year and a half because of the Pandemic and had to transfer bank to bank.
We bought our house 3 years ago and the Peso was 18 to 1 USD, (I paid in dollars) the dolar blue peso is now 180 Pesos to 1 USD so having a foreign income makes your rich in Argentina. Mendoza is great, the Wine Culture, Wild Land, closeness to Chile, fantastic.

IMO The tourist economy in Mendoza will bounce back when Covid settles down, they are planning on opening up at close to 100% this summer, the rest of the country will have a harder time, many people have been pushed into poverty over the last year and a half and the country already had a poverty problem.

 

[lost]

Just one point to add about online work here in Argentina, the current law is that any income made from freelance/contractor work in another currency has to be "pesified" within 5 days at the official peso rate which is almost 50% lower than the rate of the likes of Western Union.

I am not an accountant and this is by no means financial advice. But ...

From my understanding you have to convert your dollars to pesos if you receive the payment in dollars on your bank account here. Almost nobody does that. Besides the terrible exchange rate, there is also some bureaucratic overhead when receiving a wire in dollars to your Argentinian bank account. The wire will first be put on hold, then you need to go to the bank and present your invoices etc... Nobody does that.

With WU you receive pesos. Nothing to convert.

Many Argentinian freelancers use services such as Payoneer, Airtm, or PayPal combined with Nubi.

Or you could get paid in crypto. 'Contado con liquidación' is another option.

Just avoid receiving a dollar wire on your Argentinian bank account as a freelancer.

 

[Pianosteve]

Have already scoped the country out - check
Family and friends on hand - check
Income independent of Argentine economy - check
You'll be fine.
Welcome to Argentina!

I've got one out of three. I'm not sure how you scope the country out without actually experiencing life first-hand.

 

[Newman_ZA]

I've got one out of three. I'm not sure how you scope the country out without actually experiencing life first-hand.

I think going to the country and seeing for yourself what it is like there, what people are like, prices of things, public transport useage, looking at houses etc. You can't catch everything but you can get a good idea. We spent a whole month in Mendoza and just tried to get an idea of the place. Remember that everything is relative though. People on the forum say that things take a long time to do in Arg. Well coming from South Africa there is a thing they call "African Time" (sometimes used in a slightly racist way by expats but also used by African people in general) where things get done when they get done. Meetings never get started on time, people are always late, you wait for whole day in a line to apply for a drivers license or passport which takes months to arrive etc. A good example is that my wife needed a new Argentinian passport when she was in Mendoza. She could just go to the airport and apply for one right there with very few lines. The process was so simple and she could pay to expedite the process (1 hour express, 3 day express etc.). There was no need to stand in a line and wait a whole day. Maybe 1 hour max. Obviously, this is just one anecdotal experience and dealing with other departments is not the same but for us coming from South Africa, those are the type of things we looked at and got to experience when we spent time scoping the country out.

 

[steveinbsas]

Tired of difficult life in another country, moves to argentina for easy life....

Never been to South Africa but I wouldn't call Argentina an easy life for 99% of the population.

This was posted in the forum in 2015:

I have just returned from South Africa where I spent much time as a very young man and the crime factor there is horrendous! A beautfiul and rich country but not secure at all unless you live in some small closely-knit remote area (which is not for me!)

Based on what I've learned about South Africa in the past ten plus years, Newman_AZ and his wife would most likely be facing a very difficult life if they tried to to live on a finca (aka farm) in South Africa.

These videos are from three years ago:

This video is from August of 2021:

 

[Pianosteve]

This was posted in the forum in 2015:



Based on what I've learned about South Africa in the past ten plus years, Newman_AZ and his wife would most likely be facing a very difficult life if they tried to to live on a finca (aka farm) in South Africa.

These videos are from three years ago:

This video is from August of 2021:

Several things stood out for me watching these videos: the government has lost control of law and order, the agricultural sector, which could give such a fillip to the economy, lies in ruins, and fundamentally the trust has gone between the different communities, which doesn't augur well for the future.