Companies in Argentina get more time to claim tax exemption

Argentina will give financial technology companies, more widely known as 'fintech' firms, more time to register and obtain a tax benefit after a flood of applications, the government said Wednesday.

These companies will now have until October 31 to qualify for an exemption from the 'Impuesto sobre Créditos y Deudas en Cuentas Bancarias,' said the AFIP tax agency. Currently, firms in this sector face a 0.25 percent tax. The deadline was extended from the original September 30 limit.

The extension is aimed at "guaranteeing the normal functioning of the virtual payment and extra-bank collection systems," said AFIP head Mercedes Marco del Pont, when announcing the change.

The extension will allow authorities to deal with the large number of registration requests received and resolve them in a timely manner, he added.

The tax was extended to the fintech sector in August to level the playing field with traditional banks. The exemption covers transactions made with digital wallets, payment service providers and companies engaged in electronic payment and collection services on behalf of third parties.