#Argentina Senate passes ‘millionaire tax’ for COVID relief

Argentina has a message for its richest people: Pony up to help pay for COVID-19 relief.

After a long and contentious debate streamed live on YouTube, the country’s Senate signed into law a so-called “millionaire’s tax” that will hit about 12,000 of Argentina’s wealthiest people, Agence France-Presse reported.

President Alberto Fernandez hopes to raise at least $3.75 billion to help pay the cost of medical supplies and provide relief for poor people and hard-hit small businesses.

According to the tax law, people with declared assets greater than 200 million pesos ($10 million) will pay a progressive rate of up to 3.5% on wealth in Argentina and up to 5.25% on wealth outside the country.

Daniel Pelegrina, president of the opposing side, the powerful Argentine Rural Society (SRA), warned that the government “wants to present it as a contribution of the richest, but we know what happens with all those unique taxes, they stay forever.”

Argentina, which is home to 44 million, has reported more than 1.4 million coronavirus cases and almost 40,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The county has also been in a recession since 2018.