Echegaray defends gov't's dollar policies

AFIP tax agency head Ricardo Echegaray played down today ongoing media accusations an alleged dollar clamp imposed by the government agency is being used for discriminatory means by saying “ there was no such a thing as a persecution.”

“AFIP is not persecuting anyone. What it does is to generate policies so the tax obligations are met in a society that struggles to understand that a government agency has to fulfill its roll,” Echegaray explained.

Speaking to reporters in Cordoba province, Echegarray stated the agency’s policies are part of a bigger effort to maintain the country’s macroeconomic policies running.

“The government has the obligation to safeguard what we can call the spinal cord of economic politics so the country keeps functioning and avoiding crises like we have experienced before,” the official remarked.

The agency chief also said the government is looking after the “Central Bank reserves and the availability of dollars so importers can meet their obligations internationally.”

When asked about the dollar and credit card restrictions for Argentines travelling abroad, Echegaray pointed out that “those in pace with their tax return statements are free to travel wherever they feel like and consume whatever they want.”

“We don’t budge in people’s private businesses,” he said. “The only thing we want is to collect taxes,” the official concluded.