Argentina has passed a new tax law for the richest class of citizens to procure medical supplies and provide relief measures due to the long-running coronavirus pandemic.
Senators passed a tax law on Friday, called the “millionaire tax,” with 42 votes in favor and 26 against.
Those who have assets worth more than 200 million pesos ($ 2.5 million), which is about 12,000 people, will have to pay.
Argentina recorded close to 1.5 million infections and nearly 40,000 deaths from coronavirus.
The pandemic hit the country hard, and Argentina became the fifth country in the world to report one million confirmed cases in October, even though it has only about 45 million inhabitants - making it the smallest country to reach that number.
The closure measures have further destroyed an economy struggling with unemployment, high levels of poverty and huge government debt. Argentina has been in recession since 2018.
One of the authors of the law said it would affect only about 0.8 percent of taxpayers. Those covered by the new law will pay a progressive rate of up to 3.5 percent on wealth in Argentina and up to 5.25 percent on wealth abroad.
The AFP news agency reports that 20 percent of the money raised will go to medical supplies, 20 percent to help small and medium-sized enterprises, 20 percent to student scholarships, 15 percent to social development, and the remaining 25 percent to seek and extract natural gas.
The center-left government of President Alberto Fernandez hopes to raise 300 billion pesos.
But opposition parties fear it will discourage foreign investors and will not be a one-time tax.
The center-right party Juntos por el Cambio described the law as "seizure".
That is how they should introduce it in our country, and not just look to kidnap people who barely survive.