Covid: Argentina passes tax on wealthy to pay for virus measures

Argentina has passed a new tax on its wealthiest people to pay for medical supplies and relief measures amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Senators passed the one-off levy – dubbed the “millionaire’s tax” – by 42 votes to 26 on Friday.

Those with assets worth more than 200 million pesos ($2.5m; £1.8m) – some 12,000 people – will have to pay.

Argentina has recorded close to 1.5 million infections and almost 40,000 deaths from the coronavirus.

It has been hit hard by the pandemic, becoming the fifth country worldwide to report one million confirmed cases in October despite only having a population of about 45 million people – making it the smallest nation at the time to surpass that figure.

Lockdown measures have further dented an economy struggling with unemployment, high poverty levels and massive government debt. Argentina has been in recession since 2018.