Here is a summary of the most important cryptocurrency and economic news from Latin America during the past week, brought together by Latam Insights. Within this issue: El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele becomes victorious in the presidential race, the Brazilian tax authorities discovers more than 25,000 anomalies in cryptocurrency tax returns, and President Javier Milei of Argentina issues a warning that dollarization will not occur this year.
El Salvador’s ballot is won by Nayib Bukele in a landslide
Most local surveys and media indicated that Nayib Bukele, the current president of El Salvador, would win by a wide margin in Sunday’s presidential election. With at least 85% of the vote, the leader, who has been outspoken in his support of Bitcoin and who initially proposed the contentious idea of making bitcoin legal cash in a nation, won the backing of the majority of Salvadoran citizens.
El Salvador’s vice president, Felix Ulloa, had said that if Bukele won the presidency with a landslide, he would accelerate the implementation of bitcoin policies, such as the Volcano bonds program, which would raise money for bitcoin startups, and the program that grants passports to bitcoin entrepreneurs. the development of Bitcoin City, a proposed tax haven for cryptocurrency businesses.
Brazil Finds More Than 25,000 Errors in Bitcoin Tax Returns
The oversight of cryptocurrency tax is being strengthened by Receita Federal do Brasil (RFB), the Brazilian tax body. The organization found anomalies in over 25,000 tax returns from individuals who owned at least 0.05 BTC in their wallets but chose not to disclose it, according to local publications. When all the anomalies are taken into account, it is calculated that at least 1.06 billion reals, or $213 million, in bitcoin were not reported.
These conclusions came from an examination that used both conventional and artificial intelligence methods to uncover the taxpayers who had failed to disclose their cryptocurrency holdings on their financial statements. 237,369 tax statements with registered bitcoin investments were sent to the tax authority in total.
Milei States of Argentina Dollarization Won’t Occur in 2024
The implementation of libertarian measures in Argentina is being slowed down by President Javier Milei. It will take until at least next year for Milei to fulfill one of her major campaign promises: closing the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA) and dissolving its fiat currency.
In a recent interview with local media, Milei responded to questions regarding the topic by saying:
Time is not on our side. Consider that the BCRA wouldn’t be clean until the end of June if we kept up the current rate of cleanliness. Up to a year may pass before the financial system model is modified.
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