Argentina signs tax information exchange deal with Washington

[December 23, 2016]  BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentine signed an agreement with the United States to exchange tax information in Buenos Aires on Friday and received praise from Washington for President Mauricio Macri's economic reform efforts.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri (2nd L) and Argentine Finance Minister Alfonso Prat-Gay (L) hold a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew (2nd R), in Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 26, 2016, in this handout photo provided by Argentine Presidency. Argentine Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew visited Argentina in September, nine months after free-market proponent Macri took office and ended more than a decade of haphazard policymaking that scared off investors and raised tensions with Washington.

"This agreement furthers Argentina’s reintegration in the global economy and marks an important next step in the new era of the U.S.-Argentina relationship," Lew said in a statement on Friday.

The agreement is aimed at improving collaboration between the two countries' tax enforcement agencies, the statement said.

"It is our hope that such actions will make a meaningful contribution to the efforts of President Macri's government to rebuild institutions, re-establish credibility, improve governance, and implement structural reforms,” Lew's statement said.

(Reporting by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

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