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Argentina’s Transparency Challenges: Beneficial Owners Data in Extractive Industries
Argentina faces significant obstacles in achieving transparency regarding beneficial owners (BO) data for extractive industries. The country’s laws and regulations are contradictory, leading to a lack of transparency.
Conflict between Laws
The Law of Access to Public Information (LAIP) establishes that transparency should be the rule, but fiscal secrecy has been an obstacle to public availability of BO data. This conflict highlights the challenges Argentina faces in achieving transparency.
Contradictory Regulations
- Corporations that make their assets publicly available are exempt from reporting their beneficial owners according to regulations.
- Banking secrecy applies unless tax authorities request the information formally.
Lack of Harmonization
The legislation is contradictory, leading to a lack of transparency. No instance has all rules on the issue harmonized, nor have interests balanced.
Recommendations for Improving Transparency
- Comprehensive Primary Law: A comprehensive primary law could specifically indicate the disclosure of BO data, ensuring all rights at issue are safeguarded.
- Exceptions to Disclosure: The law could determine exceptions to disclosure, defining objective scenarios where making basic data public would pose a serious risk or substantial harm to the person in question.
- Increased Openness: A comprehensive set of rules could stipulate more openness of data when dealing with subjects that are beneficiaries of subsidies, promotional regimes, and tax exemptions.
Conclusion
The passage highlights the challenges faced by Argentina in achieving transparency regarding BO data for extractive industries due to conflicting laws and regulations. Implementing these recommendations can help improve transparency and ensure a more harmonized legislative framework.