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🇦🇷 Argentina /Economy & Trade

Argentina’s Financial Circle Backs Milei’s Course but Warns About Tax Pressure

From Clarín · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Finance leaders at the IAEF's 47th annual convention endorsed the continuation of Javier Milei's economic model and urged companies to adapt to it.
  • Executives cited cost-cutting at Aerolíneas Argentinas and said the airline began making money in 2024 and paid income tax to the state in 2025.
  • Business leaders warned that taxes account for a large share of lending costs, while Economy Minister Luis Caputo said a broader tax reform could come during a second presidential term.

At the IAEF's 47th annual convention, Argentina's financial establishment delivered a clear message: whatever the results of Javier Milei's administration, the economic course should continue. The discussion came a year before the 2027 elections and focused on preserving the model while businesses accelerate their transformation.

We have been together for a thousand days, Toto.

· Javier MileiMilei addressed Economy Minister Luis Caputo during the convention's final session.

Milei attended the convention's final session with Economy Minister Luis Caputo, Transformation Minister Federico Sturzenegger, Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno and Chamber of Deputies President Martín Menem. Senator Patricia Bullrich joined remotely. Near the close, Milei told his economy minister, “We have been together for a thousand days, Toto.”

The call to maintain the course echoed through the panels. Mario Grinman, head of the Argentine Chamber of Commerce, said companies felt comfortable with a model based on household-style discipline: not spending more than one has, and acting prudently and carefully. Executives from Aerolíneas Argentinas and Banco Galicia described how their companies were adapting.

With this model we feel comfortable because we understand it as a model like the one we apply in our daily lives at home. Not spending what we do not have, being prudent and orderly, is what will take us into the future.

· Mario GrinmanThe Argentine Chamber of Commerce president described business support for Milei's economic model.

Aerolíneas CEO Fabián Lombardo outlined personnel cuts, changes in planning and even changes to the airline's desserts. “Starting in 2024, we began making money, and in 2025 the company paid income tax to the state for the first time, with positive net worth,” he said, drawing applause. Banco Galicia CEO Diego Rivas said loan delinquency had begun to stabilize, while pointing to taxes on lending rates as one reason for missed payments.

Starting in 2024, we began making money, and in 2025 the company paid income tax to the state for the first time, with positive net worth.

· Fabián LombardoThe Aerolíneas Argentinas CEO described the results of the airline's restructuring.

“The tax cost on lending rates is madness,” Rivas said. “Nearly 40% of the cost is linked to national taxes, but above all to provincial and municipal taxes. The gross-receipts tax is the highest of them all.” Tax pressure remained the main complaint from business leaders. Caputo said a more comprehensive reform of the tax system could arrive during “a second term.”

The tax cost on lending rates is madness. Nearly 40% of the cost is linked to national taxes, but above all to provincial and municipal taxes. The gross-receipts tax is the highest of them all.

· Diego RivasThe Banco Galicia CEO criticized the tax burden on credit costs and linked it to loan delinquency.
About this summary

Originally published by Clarín in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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