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.

Those with assets worth more than $2.5m which is about 12,000 people will have to pay the tax.

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.

[Source: BBC]