César Litvin, tax expert: "It is essential that the nation negotiate a tax pact with the provinces"

The tax system in Argentina is under scrutiny in view of a possible reform that is planned to be implemented. In this regard, this media contacted the tax specialist, César Litvin , who spoke about the realization of a fiscal pact between the Government and the provinces in order to eliminate distorting taxes.

A new tax study is born in Argentina

César Litvin is part of the recent merger of two large accounting firms, giving rise to Lisicki, Litvin and Abelovich, the largest national tax firm, with more than 600 professionals. “ We went from being an accounting firm to a comprehensive firm with 24 lines of services , from auditing to tax litigation,” he explained.

This expansion allows us to compete with the large multinational consultancies. “ We have the advantage of being more agile and personalized , with a team led by the partners themselves,” said Litvin.

The Government began to fulfill its promise to reduce tax pressure

The Government has taken some measures to reduce taxes, although there are still challenges ahead. “ They kept their promise to lower taxes when there is fiscal balance . The ITI and the Country Tax were eliminated, in addition to increasing the cap on the single tax and reducing some export withholdings,” said the interviewee.

However, provinces and municipalities are not following the same line. “The problem is that many local governments raise taxes or collect them in advance , which creates a huge burden for businesses,” warned Litvin.

Gross income: the most distorting tax

One of the most questioned taxes is the Gross Income Tax, applied at each stage of production, which increases final prices. “ It is the worst tax , because it is collected in cascade and represents 70% of provincial revenue ,” explained the tax specialist.

To correct this, Litvin proposed a “fiscal pact” with sanctions for provinces that do not comply with tax reductions. “It is unavoidable that the nation negotiates a fiscal pact with the provinces ,” he said.

Along the same lines, he considered that it is essential for the Government to promote structural reform to improve competitiveness. “If we want to attract investments and reduce poverty, we need to simplify the tax system and eliminate distortions ,” he said.