The Argentine Chamber of Deputies is preparing for a key day. The ruling coalition of La Libertad Avanza (LLA), with support from PRO and UCR allies, formally requested a special session for Wednesday, August 26, at 12:00 PM. This session is expected to tackle several significant pieces of legislation that could reshape the country's economic policy.
The Marathon Session's Agenda
The call, signed by the libertarian party leader Gabriel Bornoroni and addressed to the chamber's president, Martín Menem, includes these main proposals:
| Project | Description |
|---|---|
| Reform of the BCRA Charter | Modifies Law 23.928 and related regulations to ban the Central Bank from financing the Treasury through money printing. |
| Tax Amnesty Phase II ('Inocencia Fiscal II') | Overhauls tax laws 11.3 and 27.9 to expand the amnesty, removing income and asset caps for participants. |
| Mercosur-Singapore Trade Agreement | Approves the free trade deal signed in Rio de Janeiro on December 7, 2023. |
| Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) | Ratifies the international patent agreement signed in Washington on June 19, 1970 and its subsequent amendments. |
| VAT reduction on cassava starch | Lowers the tax rate from 21% to 10.5% for this regional product, a demand from legislators of the province of Misiones. |
Details of the call
The formal request, to which La Nación had access, includes dockets No. 211 and No. 209. In addition to Bornoroni, the signatories are deputies Javier Sánchez Wrba, Alejandro Finocchiaro and Gisela Scaglia (PRO); Pamela Verasay and Karina Banfi (UCR); Alberto Arrua and Oscar Herrera Ahuad (Innovación Federal); Gladys Medina (Independencia); Nancy Picón Martínez (Producción y Trabajo); José Luis Garrido (Por Santa Cruz) and Karina Maureira (La Neuquinidad).
The BCRA reform: core of the discussion
President Javier Milei presented the initiative on July 31 in a national broadcast. The goal is to limit the Central Bank's role to preserving the value of the currency. Key points include:
- Absolute prohibition on the BCRA financing the national Treasury, provinces, or municipalities.
- Strengthening the independence of the monetary authority's directors.
- Restriction on dividend distributions from liquidity operations.
- Elimination of non-transferable notes (a type of public debt that the Central Bank holds).
The stated objective is to legally lock in the foundation of Milei's economic plan: the Treasury cannot return to financing itself by printing money. The reform aims to reverse changes made in 2012, during the second term of President Cristina Kirchner, when the bank was headed by Mercedes Marcó del Pont.
Tax Amnesty II: Expanding the program
The second major project, nicknamed Tax Amnesty II, introduces substantial changes to the income tax declaration regime:
- Eliminates the income cap (currently AR$1 billion) and the asset cap (AR$10 billion) to join the program.
- Removes the restriction that previously prevented large national taxpayers from participating. Now they can join, but only to present a simplified declaration.
- Requirement: the participant must be a resident of Argentina during the relevant fiscal period, except for the 2025 period.
A strong criticism came from the opposition. Deputy Agustín Rossi expressed his rejection: “Legislating for us”, referring to the fact that the government excluded itself from the amnesty but allows relatives of officials to benefit.
The session and the political context
This call comes at a critical moment of negotiations between La Libertad Avanza and PRO. After the Senate session on the Land Law, the ruling coalition wants to advance a package in the lower chamber that also includes projects from allied provincial parties.
“These are projects that have support from deputies from different provinces and have no fiscal impact, but we need to give them something,” said parliamentary sources.
Among those gestures to allies are symbolic initiatives, such as declaring the City of Buenos Aires as the National Capital of Theatre, Chivilcoy as the National Capital of Collecting, San Juan as the National Capital of Education, Santa Cruz as the National Capital of Cold Water Swimming, Tucumán as the National Capital of Ecotourism and Salta as the National Capital of the Black Pig, among others.
Also on the agenda is the creation of new appellate courts in Tucumán and Mar del Plata.
Senate plans
In parallel, the Senate is aiming to hold a session on Thursday, August 27, although agreement with allies has not been confirmed. The ruling party wants to move forward with a set of judicial appointments and the so-called “Ley Hojarasca” (a bill to repeal obsolete laws). Legislative committees of the upper house are preparing for debates, but a postponement until the first week of September is also possible.
Friendship groups in congress
With the session focusing attention, the committee agenda for next week has been reduced. However, several meetings of the Parliamentary Friendship Groups (GPA) are scheduled at the Delia Parodi Hall:
- Monday, August 25: GPA with the Netherlands (3:00 PM).
- Tuesday, August 26: Formation of GPA with Denmark (12:00 PM), GPA with Vietnam (2:00 PM).
- Thursday, August 28: GPA with Indonesia (12:00 PM) and GPA with Japan (2:30 PM).
The session on Wednesday will not only define the official economic agenda but will also gauge the relationship between the ruling party and its legislative allies.