Lawmakers from the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires will review a proposal to include a one-time tax to contribute to the COVID-19 health emergency. This would be a 1% income tax on banks, gambling operators, online platforms and financial companies.
The Frente de Todos political party unveiled the project earlier this week, but the ruling party doesn’t believe that the bill will obtain the necessary approvals.
Radical Civic Union representatives told La Política Online: “It’s not that easy, especially since the health sector was one that we prioritized. We believe that the independent sectors are the ones that suffered the most because of the crisis, they need our help.”
The legislators who submitted the project, Santiago Roberto, Matías Berrotaveña y Manuel Socías, said that the health sector in the Argentinian capital received the lowest budget in the last 13 years.
“The health system needs to be endowed with resources, both physical and human. The latter need to receive good salaries and need to be protected,” they said.
The fund generated from this income would be used to finance sanitary actions and social programs in Buenos Aires. As established by the proposal, the 1% tax would only apply to companies that have generated more than $450k in gross income in 2019.
Back in March 17, the City decided to limit access to casinos and racecourses to 200 people at a time. While the initial decision aimed at preventing the expansion of the virus without slowing down economic activity, facilities were forced to close their doors as the President Alberto Fernández ordered a mandatory lockdown.