On 7 January 2021, the City of Buenos Aires published Law No. 6,394 ("Law") in the Official Gazette, through which it adhered to the Regime for the Promotion of the Knowledge Economy ("Regime"), created by national Law No. 27.506

Beneficiaries

The beneficiaries of the Law are individuals and legal entities located or residing in the City of Buenos Aires, who carry out any of the following activities:

1. Software, computer and digital services, including:
   1. Development of the existing or future software products and services (SAAS) that apply to activities such as e-learning, interactive marketing, e-commerce, provision of application services, editing and electronic publication of information; provided they are part of an integrated computing offer and add value to it;
   2. Development of original software products that can be registered as unpublished or edited work;
   3. Implementation and development for third parties of their own software products or those created by third parties and of registered products;
   4. Development of custom software when this activity makes it possible to distinguish the creation of added value, even when intellectual property is transferred to third parties in the respective agreements;
   5. Value-added computing services aimed at improving the security of equipment and networks, the reliability of software programs and systems, the quality of systems and data, and the management of information and knowledge of organizations;
   6. Development of parts of systems, modules, routines, procedures, documentation, provided that they are developments complementary or included to registrable software products;
   7. Design services, coding, implementation, maintenance, remote support, resolution of incidents, conversion and/or translation of computer languages, addition of functions, preparation of user documentation and guarantee or advice on quality of systems, among others, all of them to be made to software products and destined for foreign markets;
   8. Development of software that is prepared to be incorporated in processors (embedded software) used in goods and systems of various kinds;
   9. Video games; and,
   10. Cloud computing services;
2. Biotechnology, bioeconomy, biology, biochemistry, microbiology, bioinformatics, molecular biology, neurotechnology and genetic engineering, geoengineering and its tests and analysis;
3. Nanotechnology and nanoscience; 
4. Aerospace and satellite industry, space technologies; 
5. Nuclear Industry Engineering; 
6. Manufacturing, commissioning, maintenance and introduction of goods and services oriented to solutions, digital processes and automation in production exclusively associated with industry 4.0 technologies.  

Financial technology (fintech) activities are excluded from the Regime, which include developments, products, services or processes provided by financial and/or investment companies. Said exclusion does not comprise the product or service provided to the financial technology company by its supplier if it is a beneficiary of the Regime.

Commitments to be assumed by the beneficiaries of the Regime

In addition to the registration requirements of the Regime, the beneficiaries of the Law must assume at least two of the following commitments in relation to the aforementioned activities, in the City of Buenos Aires, in the percentages established by the Enforcement Authority, with the following limits:

1. Increase the payroll of employees, in a percentage to be determined by the Enforcement Authority, which may not exceed 5% of the initial payroll at the time of registration.
2. Increase the area devoted to carrying out the promoted activities, by a percentage to be determined by the Enforcement Authority, which may not exceed 10% of its initial area at the time of registration;
3. Export goods and/or services resulting from the development of any of the promoted activities, in a percentage to be determined by the Enforcement Authority, which may not exceed 13% of its total billing for the last year;
4. Make investments in a percentage with respect to its total billing for the last year that may not exceed 3% for research and development that includes novelty, originality and/or creativity;
5. Accredit the training of their employees and/or assistants, on issues related to the promoted activities, in a percentage with respect to their salary mass for the last year, which may not exceed 5%; or to certify the realization of continuous improvements in the quality of its services, products and/or processes, or by means of a recognized quality standard applicable to its services, products and / or processes.

Benefits regarding the Gross Receipt Tax

The beneficiaries registered in the Knowledge Economy Registry will benefit from the reduction of their applicable Gross Receipt Tax (GRT) rate or a tax treatment similar to the industry with respect to those mentioned activities, in accordance to the following scheme depending on the commitments assumed by the beneficiary:

1. The beneficiary with two assumed commitments obtains a benefit of a 50% reduction of the GRT rate;
2. The beneficiary with three assumed commitments obtains a 75% reduction of the GRT rate.

In the aforementioned cases, the beneficiaries will not be able to benefit from a lower GRT rate than the one that corresponds to the industrial activity, in accordance with the current Tariff Law. This means that in these cases, the reduced GRT rate of the Regime may not be more beneficial than the one applicable to the industrial activity. 

However, if the beneficiaries had assumed four or more commitments, they will obtain a tax treatment similar to the ones of the industrial activities, with the scope and limitations established in the current Tariff Law.

In the event that the beneficiaries have one or more additional establishments outside the City, the benefits will not be applicable to the activities carried out there.

Validity

The Regime established by the Law will be in force until 31 December 2029. The Law shall be complemented by further regulations.

Click here to access the Spanish version: Argentina: Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Adhesión al Régimen de Promoción de la Economía del Conocimiento