BUENOS AIRES, Dec. 5 (BBC) - Argentina has passed a new tax on its wealthiest people to pay for medical supplies and relief measures amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Senators passed the one-off levy - dubbed the “millionaire’s tax” - by 42 votes to 26 yesterday. Those with assets worth over 200 million pesos (USD 2.5 m) - some 12,000 people - will have to pay.
Argentina has recorded almost 1.5 million infections and almost 40,000 deaths from the coronavirus.
It has been hit hard by the pandemic, becoming the fifth country to report one million confirmed cases in October despite a population of about 45 million people - making it the smallest nation at the time to surpass that figure.
Lockdown measures have further dented an economy struggling with unemployment, high poverty levels and massive government debt. Argentina has been in recession since 2018.