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Argentina is not expensive in US$, is expensive in TAXES.

This is to understand what decades of adding taxes and putting pressure on the population to maintain a giant state causes over time:

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Wow what is this taken from @enbits Is this from the Economist? I think I remember reading something about this. I couldn't believe how expensive electronics were in Argentina. I thought Milei was going to cut taxes? I am coming back in June but all I see is people complaining about prices lately in BA.
 
You are wrong @enbits. Argentina IS expensive. Prices are very dear. If you cut taxes businesses probably would just raise them up just because. I see that all the time here. Now companies are starting to go bankrupt and are closing.
 
Wow what is this taken from @enbits Is this from the Economist? I think I remember reading something about this. I couldn't believe how expensive electronics were in Argentina. I thought Milei was going to cut taxes? I am coming back in June but all I see is people complaining about prices lately in BA.
Some taxes and regulations have to pass congress in order to be removed. Milei is dismantling a time bomb.
 
As taxes are getting removed, the consumers benefit. Look at the auto industries with several companies passing on the savings to consumers.

Hyundai in Argentina has announced a price reduction for its Tucson model, reaching a discount of up to 13% due to changes in the tax structure. This adjustment is a result of the elimination of the first tier of internal taxes for vehicles priced between $41 million and $75 million pesos, and the reduction of the tariff from 35% to 18% for vehicles exceeding that amount.

Hyundai has also expressed its intention to reintroduce models that had been discontinued in the country, such as the new generation of the Santa Fe SUV. This decision is made possible by the new tax rules that allow for greater competitiveness in the market.

Details of the Discount on the Hyundai Tucson:

-The Tucson Safety 2.0 AT version went from $54,900 to $48,000, a discount of 12.6%.

-The Tucson Ultimate 1.6 Turbo 4WD version went from $66,900 to $58,000, a discount of 13.3%.

New Generation of the Hyundai Santa Fe:

It is expected that the new Santa Fe will arrive in South America, with Argentina as the first destination, offering an electrified option.The model features a revamped design and advanced technology, including engines like a 2.5-liter gasoline engine and a hybrid option based on a 1.6-liter turbo engine.
 
This will take time to fix. Those taxes are shocking. I know about the 21% VAT tax that is on everything. What other taxes go into that Big Mac???
Many many taxes in Argentina. That is why so much of the economy is under the table. Imagine having to pay 21% on any professional fees and services. This is why so many people don't want any official invoice. Sometimes even when companies want to declare it, the consumers force them not to because they would have to pay 21% iva tax on it. That is why the government needs to get rid of all of these taxes and it will get a lot of income in the white. Without this you will have this shadow economy under the table.

Besides the vat tax companies have huge tax burdens. There are gross income taxes, payroll taxes are very high and there are many various taxes that will all get passed on to the consumer. I would also be curious to see an exact breakdown of how they are coming up with this net figure above.

Taxes are so complicated here you might be able to ask an accountant and they might not be able to tell you all the taxes.

You are wrong @enbits. Argentina IS expensive. Prices are very dear. If you cut taxes businesses probably would just raise them up just because. I see that all the time here. Now companies are starting to go bankrupt and are closing.
On this point I don't agree with you Larry. I think companies here find excuses to mark up prices. They will price things with a maximum pain threshold for consumers. They will charge as high as they can without going out of business.
 
I can't see Argentina really turning itself around without eliminating some of these taxes. The problem is that no one will declare income until they come down.

So much of the country is still in black.
The problem is everyone is already accustomed to not paying any income tax. I am buying an apartment now and was surprised to see 21% VAT tax on realtor's fees and also legal fees. That would have added on thousands and thousands of dollars. I balked and both the lawyer and realtor were all too happy to not charge me it. I guess they don't have to pay income tax either on this. If the government just had some reasonable fee I doubt people would object but they are taking funds at all ends.
 
Argentina is expensive period. Stop trying to make up excuses saying not expensive, only taxes, blah blah. It's expensive!
 
Argentina is expensive period. Stop trying to make up excuses saying not expensive, only taxes, blah blah. It's expensive!
I would dispute that simply because real estate is so cheap in Argentina, and renting is even cheaper than buying. Real estate is usually the biggest component of a family's budget, whether it's rent or mortgage/insurance/taxes for owners. Even if you have no mortgage, property taxes and insurance are a whopper these days.

Real estate in any other 10 million+ person city is MULTIPLES more expensive than BA. I don't know what anything else in Argentina costs because I mostly did tourist stuff there, but I did a pretty deep dive into real estate and it is very cheap. And we only looked at the most expensive areas. I can't even imagine how cheap property must be in the suburbs or smaller cities like Mendoza.
 
I would dispute that simply because real estate is so cheap in Argentina, and renting is even cheaper than buying. Real estate is usually the biggest component of a family's budget, whether it's rent or mortgage/insurance/taxes for owners. Even if you have no mortgage, property taxes and insurance are a whopper these days.

Real estate in any other 10 million+ person city is MULTIPLES more expensive than BA. I don't know what anything else in Argentina costs because I mostly did tourist stuff there, but I did a pretty deep dive into real estate and it is very cheap. And we only looked at the most expensive areas. I can't even imagine how cheap property must be in the suburbs or smaller cities like Mendoza.
Spot on target Craig. People keep saying that Buenos Aires is as expensive as the USA but that is far from true. I admit, on some things like dining out some places are as expensive but people saying that things in BA are as expensive as the USA probably haven't been living here for a while. Rents are crazy expensive, especially in desirable larger metropolitan cities.

Buenos Aires definitely is the most expensive along with Bariloche but you can find screaming values outside. @StatusNomadicus posted about his experience buying a house and it was very inexpensive there. For a city the calibre of Buenos Aires, prices are still cheap. Prices are at 2006 levels in Buenos Aires so a long way to go back up and it will.

Craig, I think you said it best last year when you said the prices in BA are cheaper than a dumpy town like Milwaukee. LOL. Prices still have a long way to go back up. Activity is picking up by both locals and also foreigners. My firm is getting retained at levels after the corralito from foreigners. Up to 3 new clients each week.

 
Craig, I think you said it best last year when you said the prices in BA are cheaper than a dumpy town like Milwaukee. LOL. Prices still have a long way to go back up. Activity is picking up by both locals and also foreigners. My firm is getting retained at levels after the corralito from foreigners. Up to 3 new clients each week.
Ha! That remains true Mike. Even with US real estate falling and Argentina rising, you still couldn't buy a new condo in Sheboygan, Wisconsin for what we paid in BA. Construction costs are just so much higher here.
 
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Spot on target Craig. People keep saying that Buenos Aires is as expensive as the USA but that is far from true. I admit, on some things like dining out some places are as expensive but people saying that things in BA are as expensive as the USA probably haven't been living here for a while. Rents are crazy expensive, especially in desirable larger metropolitan cities.

Buenos Aires definitely is the most expensive along with Bariloche but you can find screaming values outside. @StatusNomadicus posted about his experience buying a house and it was very inexpensive there. For a city the calibre of Buenos Aires, prices are still cheap. Prices are at 2006 levels in Buenos Aires so a long way to go back up and it will.

Craig, I think you said it best last year when you said the prices in BA are cheaper than a dumpy town like Milwaukee. LOL. Prices still have a long way to go back up. Activity is picking up by both locals and also foreigners. My firm is getting retained at levels after the corralito from foreigners. Up to 3 new clients each week.

Very interesting about as many foreigners buying now vs. after the corralito. Isn't that when you were buying hundreds of properties Mike? Wow things are picking up that much? Who are the buyers? What countries are they from? Are they just investors? My sister just bought a place in Palermo Hollywood as you know. She was surprised the long-term rental market is actually good. The developer just found someone to lease it long term so she won't even have to buy any furniture. She will end up making almost 5% from the price she paid. Only downside is she can't use it when she visits me.

Ha! That remains true Mike. Even with US real estate falling and Argentina rising, you still couldn't buy a new condo in Sheboygan, Wisconsin for what we paid in BA. Construction costs are just so much higher here.
🤣 Funny that you used that city because my grandma is from there and my sister used that comparison with me! Construction costs in BA they say are going up and doubling but our prices here are still much cheaper than in the States.
 
Funny that you used that city because my grandma is from there and my sister used that comparison with me! Construction costs in BA they say are going up and doubling but our prices here are still much cheaper than in the States.
Very funny! I remember it from an old surfing movie, hilarious group of locals would ride the wind-driven waves on Lake Michigan. They were all missing teeth and sounded more Canadian than anyone I know.
 
I would dispute that simply because real estate is so cheap in Argentina, and renting is even cheaper than buying. Real estate is usually the biggest component of a family's budget, whether it's rent or mortgage/insurance/taxes for owners. Even if you have no mortgage, property taxes and insurance are a whopper these days.

Real estate in any other 10 million+ person city is MULTIPLES more expensive than BA. I don't know what anything else in Argentina costs because I mostly did tourist stuff there, but I did a pretty deep dive into real estate and it is very cheap. And we only looked at the most expensive areas. I can't even imagine how cheap property must be in the suburbs or smaller cities like Mendoza.
That is what I can't get over. I didn't think the people were as friendly as other places in Latin America I visited. Food was overrated. I kept going back to the same places that were great. I usually never repeat meals in a city while on vacation.

Real estate has to be the best deal. I was surprised how nice some of the neighborhoods were like Belgrano, Recoleta and Palermo. It didn't feel like South America to me.

I am also looking at getting a place. Prices went up. Kicking myself for not jumping in last year but still looks like room to go up.
 
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