However, he was unable to move forward with the authorization to take on debt of up to USD 3.038 billion
Compartir:
The ultra-Kirchnerist governor Axel Kicillof succeeded in having the Buenos Aires Legislature pass the 2026 Budget and the Tax Law, although he failed to move forward with the most sensitive point of his economic package: authorization to take on debt of up to USD 3.038 billion.
The session, which lasted past midnight, once again showed that the provincial ruling party faces growing difficulties in convincing the opposition to support its disastrous financial strategy.
This way, the Buenos Aires governor secured a budget with 20% more spending than in 2025 and permission to charge a 9% rate of Gross Income on the profits that provincial banks earn from operating with national public securities.
Axel Kicillof, gobernador bonaerense.
Frente de Todos obtained the necessary votes to approve the main regulations with support from Peronism, the Somos Buenos Aires bloc, UCR Cambio Federal, and Coalición Cívica. However, the debt authorization, which requires two-thirds, ran into a firm blockade from La Libertad Avanza, PRO, and a sector of the UCR.
During the debate, the toughest opposition targeted the fiscal imbalances of the Buenos Aires administration. From La Libertad Avanza, deputy Guillermo Castello questioned the government's approach: "Kicillof presents a deficit budget with a gender perspective. The title alone is enough for us to reject it," he stated.
He then expanded his criticism: "We're going to vote against it because the budget goes against fiscal balance, and when the premises are false, the conclusions are wrong."
Axel Kicillof.
Kicillof's tax increase
Meanwhile, both chambers also approved a controversial article of the Tax Law that allows Kicillof's government to charge a 9% Gross Income rate on the profits that banks earn from operating with national public securities.
However, this tax, which has the highest rate in the entire country, will not begin to apply automatically on January 1, 2026, like the rest of the law. Its implementation was made subject to future regulation by the Buenos Aires Executive itself, a nuance that introduces an additional margin for negotiation and suggests that the measure could face both technical and political resistance.
