According to BNA's David Haskel in the May 1, 2011 Daily Tax Report, Argentina has sent 1200 tax agents out to raid the offices of major grain and bean companies, including two US agribusiness MNEs, Cargill and Bunge. The agents carried out raids across the country on Friday and Saturday, targeting 200 companies and individuals (including notaries and accountants) suspected of being involved in the scams. The documents seized will be studied as the tax administration determines its next moves.
Companies are thought to be using various tax evasion techniques, including setting up shame companies attributable to deceased people, money laundering, and claiming abandoned silos as place of origin for grains. Cargill is accused of billing its sales to a Uruguayan subsidiary, that would then bill companies set up in tax havens. In addition, the Uruguayan subsidiary claimed it was making sales at below purchase price, generating losses that allowed it to reduce taxes. Bunge is suspected of the biggest tax-dodge, based on raids of its offices and seizure of files. It may have used the scams to avoid $300 million in taxes. The Argentine tax office indicated that other American companies, including Archer Daniels Midland, DuPont and Louis Dreyfus, are also under investigation.
Recent Comments