Annabella Quiroga
06/03/2020 - 16:59
- Clarín.com
- Economy
- Economy
In May, the purchase of "solidarity" dollars by small savers doubled from the previous month: it went from US $ 194 million to US $ 400 million. In the heat of the exchange gap , which in the month exceeded 100% with respect to the blue dollar, operations multiplied to such an extent that the PAIS tax increased its collection 160% compared to April.
Juan Pablo Di Iorio, analyst at the ACM consultancy, explains that this jump was due "to the increase in the purchase of dollars for hoarding. That is the main traction." The consultant's estimate is that in May the purchase by this route reached US $ 400 million.
As Clarín reported , throughout May the banks detected a higher volume of operations around the "solidarity dollar". In the melting pot of the different types of dollars that coexist in Argentina, the person who bears the 30% PAIS tax was baptized "solidarity". This tax was established in December and taxes the acquisition of dollars and the operations of purchase of goods and services in foreign currency. In theory, what is entered through this channel is intended to cover social expenses. With the purchase of these dollars, the state raised in April enough to finance the payment of half a million benefits from the Emergency Family Income (IFE), the $ 10,000 bond paid by Anses.
Since the PAIS tax was implemented, it has collected $ 33,589 million . In the summer months a good part of the collection came from the purchase of tickets and expenses abroad related to vacations. In fact, the highest point had been recorded in February, when it contributed $ 7,537 million. But with the coronavirus the situation changed. The quarantine canceled trips abroad and the purchase of tickets. But at the same time it promoted the acquisition of dollars for hoarding.
Thus, in April the purchase of solidarity dollars reached US $ 194 million. The Central Bank data establishes that last month about 1.2 million Argentines bought on the official market. One out of ten busy blank. And they spent another $ 50 million on credit cards. That month they bought at an average price of $ 65 plus 30%.
In May this operation was strengthened. Two factors contributed . On the one hand, the greater restrictions that the Central Bank established to operate with alternative dollars ignited the blue dollar, which reached $ 138. With that, the gap jumped above 100%. Today with the blue at $ 123, the gap is around 80%. This difference potentiated the "mash": buy in the official one at $ 91.60 and sell in the blue one at $ 116 (the current purchase price). This allows you to make a profit of around $ 5,000 per month operating in the informal market.
For all this, in May the PAIS tax grew 160% compared to April. $ 11,907 million was raised , against $ 4,564 million that had entered the fiscal coffers the previous month, according to AFIP data. With the trips abroad canceled, the exponential jump in this tax is due to the increase in purchases of US $ 200 per month by individuals.
To the purchase of the US $ 200 a month, another way of "hoarding" is added: the acquisition of imported goods through electronic commerce . "Clearly people are trying to seize goods from abroad as a way to access the solidarity dollar," says Di Iorio.
