Argentina: Buenos Aires Province governor suspends tax on slot winnings

Buenos Aires Province Governor María Eugenia Vidal has decided to cease to impose a levy on gambling winnings, which was created in December 2018 in accordance with an agreement signed between business associations and labor unions. The tax had been implemented to fund social welfare expenses, which grew at the pace of the economic crisis in Argentina. By then, government officials estimated the tax would bring in 6,000 million pesos (USD 105 K) to the country’s most populated province.

Although the resolution has not been published in the government gazette yet, La Política Online revealed that it would bear the signature of, Matías Lanusse, Head of the Buenos Aires Lottery and that the resolution provides for the suspension of the tax until "until a factual, material and technical method is determined to calculate it."

Meanwhile, no progress has been made towards the award of online gaming licenses in the Province of Buenos Aires yet. Although government officials have not said the process will be dismissed, they do recognize things are going slow. After the primary elections which took place in Argentina in August, chances are candidate Axel Kicilof would have to decide how to proceed if Vidal does not solve the matter sooner.