The debate over municipal taxes in the province of Buenos Aires has a new twist: a digital tool that promises to expose who charges the most and who charges the least. Provincial senator and economist Diego Valenzuela (La Libertad Avanza) presented the “Fiscal Traffic Light” on Friday, August 14, 2026. This platform classifies the 135 municipalities of the province according to their tax pressure, state size, infrastructure, and employment.
What is the Fiscal Traffic Light?
It's a website (menosimpuestos.com.ar) developed over a year with economists and tax specialists. It uses a color system—green, yellow, and red—to rank municipalities, and allows users to view each district's data and make direct comparisons. The project, named “Menos impuestos, más trabajo” (Fewer taxes, more jobs), was presented at the Torre Macro auditorium in front of business leaders, officials, and experts, with national senator Patricia Bullrich kicking off the event.
“This initiative is designed so that merchants, entrepreneurs, and neighbors know where their pockets are protected and where it's not advisable to invest or create jobs”
Key fact
The index is calculated by averaging the tax rates of five activities: retail banking, hypermarkets, industry, retail trade, and wholesale trade. An extra +0.14 is added if the municipality charges a road tax or business license fee.
The ranking: from San Pedro to Hurlingham
The tool calculates municipal tax pressure as the average of nominal rates for those five activities. It also incorporates adjustments for road taxes and business license fees. Here are some notable results:
| Zone | Municipality | Tax pressure |
|---|---|---|
| Green | San Pedro | 0.52% |
| Green | Tres de Febrero | 0.55% |
| Green | Chivilcoy | 0.75% |
| Near green | Florencio Varela | 1.28% |
| Near green | Junín | 1.29% |
| Near green | General Rodríguez | 1.30% |
| Yellow | Tigre | 1.63% |
| Yellow | Coronel Rosales | 1.67% |
| Yellow | La Costa | 1.74% |
| Red | Hurlingham | 3.16% |
| Red | Lanús | 3.06% |
| Red | Marcos Paz | 2.88% |
Source: Semáforo Fiscal. The three municipalities in red charge a road tax and have all rates above 1%.
Infrastructure: another gap
The indicator measuring coverage of basic services (water, gas, and sewage) shows another divide. Vicente López leads with 92.46% coverage, followed by Tres de Febrero (90.02%) and San Isidro (89.36%). At the other extreme, José C. Paz barely reaches 19%, according to the 2022 Census.
Municipal salary spending
The platform also measures how much of local budgets go to salaries. San Nicolás has the lowest share (15.27%), while Coronel Rosales reaches 74.03%. Tres de Febrero records 27% and Morón hits 60%.
Bullrich's support and political context
The presentation came amid a fierce dispute between the national government and municipalities over tax burdens. Valenzuela said he had already shown the project to President Javier Milei, who showed “great enthusiasm and interest.” Days earlier, he also shared it with Economy Minister Luis Caputo, who responded on social media: “Excellent initiative.”
Patricia Bullrich used the occasion to highlight ideological differences: “This traffic light shows us two models of the state: one that lives by charging more and more fees, and the other that understands the state should step back as much as possible and not obstruct.” She added: “This idea is the Valenzuela method, which is what is being done at the national level with President Milei.”
The initiative joins other official tools like the Municipal Tax Transparency Portal and the Municipal Tax Map, launched by the Ministry of Economy last December. The battle over fees has even reached the courts in several districts, as municipalities face reduced transfers from national funds and seek to shore up their own revenue.