This thesis explores the concept of emergency governance and the politics of taxation in post-crisis Argentina (2003-2015). In so doing, it identifies the range of complex social and political factors that shape tax regimes and in particular the role of tax in building state capacity, promoting development and exiting financial crisis.
After the economic collapse of 2001, Argentina moved towards a more interventionalist model of development, and is often described as being part of the Latin American ‘Pink Tide’ that swept the region. The shift in development models was part of an attempt to address poor regional growth, rising indebtedness and the high levels of poverty that had characterised many Latin American states in the 1990s. The crisis, followed by the largest sovereign debt-default in history, was a catalyst for a raft of emergency policies, and in lieu of borrowing options, ‘emergency’ taxes were implemented on major agricultural exports that were benefiting from a ‘boom’ in international prices. Export taxes helped finance the expansion of welfare redistribution in Argentina post- crisis and contributed towards returning the country to growth and reducing poverty indices. Whilst much has been written about government spending in this period, the role of tax and the process of tax collection has largely been neglected.
Tax rises that were initially seen as legitimate, however, eventually proved very contentious. These tax rises were only accepted as an emergency tax. They were not normalised as part of the tax basket under Presidents Kirchner and Fernández de Kirchner (2003-2015). Tax thus became a fault line for social and political tensions that threatened the financing of the Argentine state.
This thesis contributes to an under-studied area of political economy of development debates on tax and in Argentina. It does so conceptually and empirically by exploring the politics and complexities of tax collection. Conceptually, this thesis draws from Historical Sociology and Political Economy of Development and Taxation literatures and engages with concepts of emergency governance, legitimacy, consensus, political conflict, polarisation and contention. Empirically, the thesis provides a detailed account of the contentious politics of taxation between 2003-2015.
