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Money laundering: How to include properties for which until now there was only a sales contract - La Nacion Propiedades
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Blanqueo: cómo incluir las propiedades de las que hasta ahora solo se tenía un boleto de compraventa
Desde hoy, la AFIP reglamentó el proceso para poderlo hacer; salió en el Boletín Oficial
www.lanacion.com.ar
July 30, 2024
As of today, the AFIP has regulated the process to be able to do so; it was published in the Official Gazette
By Fernando Torres Ullmer
How to include properties for which until now there was only a purchase and sale agreement
When the Federal Public Revenue Administration (AFIP) regulated the procedure to adhere to money laundering (contemplated in Law 27.74) included in the Bases Law and the Fiscal Package , the issue of laundering a property in another's name , but of which one has possession of use or enjoyment, had not been included .
During the long discussion of the Legislative Branch on the Bases Law and the Fiscal Package, the Deputies had approved this provision to include properties in the name of third parties , but this was affected when the debate moved to the Upper House of the Senate and it was eliminated .
However, as Sebastián M. Domínguez, CEO of SDC Asesores Tributarios, announced at the Real Estate Summit organized by LA NACION at the beginning of the month, new AFIP regulations were expected , only for property that is in the possession, holding or custody of another person.
Domínguez brought up the topic at the Real Estate Summit organized by LA NACION at the beginning of the month
The new regulations were published today in the Official Gazette. The specific change is that until now it was not possible to launder properties in the name of third parties and now it can be done by anyone who has the sales contract with possession or another similar commitment provided with a notarial certification with a certain date. “Provided that possession has been given by December 31, 2023, inclusive,” details the annex.
But what does that mean? You cannot launder a property that is in the name of a third party, which is called a strawman . So, what can be laundered? A specific case, if the person has a sales contract for a property that they acquired from a third party and did not put it in their name, that is, they do not have a deed and therefore do not appear in the Property Registry, they could now launder it through AFIP .
"That is to say, you can launder the property of which you were not the owner until now as long as you have that receipt with a certain date - until December 31, 2023 - and with a signature certified by a notary," Domínguez explains and insists: what is laundered before AFIP can later be recorded in the deed.
"The basic law - fiscal package - says that the person who can launder money is the owner of the assets or the person who has possession, use or ownership , and the regulations define how to prove ownership, use or ownership. And only today the regulations say how this is proven ," details the specialist consulted by LA NACION .
“Also, the regulations had to be looked at to determine whether, as a matter of fact and evidence, it was accepted that if a person had been paying for services for years , it could be interpreted that they had possession and use and enjoyment, but according to these regulations this situation would not apply . In other words, the payment of services or taxes alone is not enough,” Domínguez clarifies.
In summary: what does the new AFIP regulations include :
- If one has the ticket with possession or a similar document always certified by a notary, the whitening applies
On the other hand, what is not included :
- If a person does not have the ticket with possession with a certain date , even if they can prove in another way that they paid taxes for a long number of years, they cannot access it.
Today the AFIP regulations were published in the Official Gazette
“I think that other cases should have been considered , where the exact date of these documents can be proven in another way. For example, it could be that the possession could have been given with a digital document with a digital signature , not a scanned one, but a digital signature that is equivalent to a handwritten one. So, when someone signs digitally, the day, date and time are recorded. In other words, it should be considered valid , although the regulations do not contemplate this,” says the CEO of SDC Tax Advisors.
Since there are issues that were not taken into account, Domínguez answers whether there will be changes to the current regulations : “It is always possible to modify them, accept proposals, but given the short time before the first stage of the money laundering process ends, it seems unlikely that anything will be modified . Although it would be good if it were modified, for example, by adding this issue of digital signature.”
This new regulation has a second part. How to prove the tax valuation? This new regulation provides that one can enter the website of the corresponding tax administrations, for example ARBA, print the screen and it would have to be uploaded to the AFIP website in the presentation of the money laundering.
Modification in Personal Property
Another point that goes hand in hand with the money laundering is how it can impact what a person pays for Personal Property. The Ley Bases changed the minimum non-taxable floor, which went from $27,377,408.28 to $100 million , and will result in fewer people paying this tax. At the same time, it updated the floor of this tax related to properties used as residential homes from $136,887,041.42 to $350 million , meaning that: those who have a home valued at up to $350 million will not pay for it.In addition, the tax rate , which is applied once the non-taxable minimum is exceeded (the tax table with the different scales), was reduced from 1.75% -for assets in the country- and from 2.25% -for assets abroad- to a range that goes from 0.5% to 1.5%, and the discrimination between both types of assets (in the country and abroad) was eliminated.
The reform also includes the possibility of making an advance payment of the tax (for assets that were already declared) in which a unified payment can be made that will settle the tax for five years (the periods 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027) at a preferential rate of 0.45% (for assets declared as of December 31, 2023) and for assets that are laundered, an additional 0.5% must be added for four years, freezing their assets. In addition, it promises “fiscal stability” until 2038 .
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