CBDC will improve tax collection — Argentine central bank head

Director of the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic (BCRA), Agustín D’Attellis, publicly supported his counterpart, the Minister of Economy Sergio Massa, in his promotion of the central bank digital currency (CBDC) as a remedy for the national economy. 

Giving a commentary on local TV, D’Attellis expressed his belief that the “digital peso” (PAD) could help stabilize the Argentine economy as soon as 2024. In the official’s opinion, the key feature of the CBDC is its traceability, which would help the state to collect the taxes:

“By having traceability of operations with a digital currency because it is not known who does them, but there is evidence that they were done, you broaden the tax base. This will allow you to raise more without having to raise taxes and even lower them.” 

The PAD will also help to solve the nation’s monetary problem, as the unstable local currency, the peso, often competes with the American dollar even as a payment method. 

Related: Buenos Aires to issue blockchain-based digital ID

D’Attellis spoke about the “digital peso” in a very definite manner — the head of the Central Bank assured that the CBDC would be introduced gradually, coexisting with cash, and the final replacement of the paper bill would happen at the last stage of the project.

On Oct. 2, Sergio Massa, the acting Minister of Economy and the presidential candidate, pledged to launch a CBDC if elected to “solve” Argentina’s long-lasting inflation crisis. According to the voting polls, Massa is slightly trailing Javier Milei, a pro-Bitcoin and anti-central bank candidate, who wants to adopt the United States dollar as Argentina’s currency.