Alberto Fernández aiming for higher tax take from wealthy individuals

Presidential candidate Alberto Fernández has suggested he would crack down on tax evasion by individuals if he wins the upcoming election.

The Frente de Todos frontrunner also accused President Mauricio Macri of favouring the wealthy.

In an interview with Infobae, Fernández said Macri has focused on ensuring companies pay taxes while ignoring increasing revenue from individuals.

“Companies pay taxes, not individual persons. They do not pay for their wealth. And that must be changed,” Fernández said. “So what we have to do is focus on those taxpayers and ask them to help. Let them contribute. So that they pay like elsewhere in the world.”

Fernández, who is favoured to win the October 27 vote, did not provide details on how he would seek to reduce tax evasion. “How do we do it? That is a subject of debate. But that it needs to be done is not a debate.”

He said that Argentina’s main fiscal problem was low collection rates due to weak economic growth.

Fernández defeated Macri in the August 11 PASO primary vote by a wide margin, sparking a sell-off in bonds and the peso thanks to concerns the country could default in the coming years. The former Cabinet chief has said that Argentina will need to increase exports and growth to be able to pay its debts.

– TIMES/BLOOMBERG