BUENOS AIRES – Argentina’s tax revenue could return to double-digit growth in November, the head of the country’s tax agency said on Wednesday.

Higher tourist volume and a pick-up in international trade will contribute to the increase, Ricardo Echegaray, the head of AFIP agency, told reporters in Buenos Aires.

“Tourist buses are full and one has to see all the movement with containers at the Buenos Aires port,” Echegaray said.

Argentina’s October tax take rose a higher-than-expected 8.8 percent from a year earlier to 26.42 billion pesos ($6.94 billion).

Still, tax revenue growth has slowed in the past couple of months, affected in part by a severe outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus, that kept many Argentines away from shopping centers and tourist areas.

“We’ve suffered the impact of two crises … with the global economic slowdown and with the flu,” Echegaray added. ” (But) there has been a clear rebound in revenue last month.”

The government is expected to release figures for November in early December.

Argentina’s tax revenue is tracked by economists as a gauge of the country’s ability to repay debt.

WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:

Still, tax revenue growth has slowed in the past couple of months, affected in part by a severe outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus, that kept many Argentines away from shopping centers and tourist areas.
Higher tourist volume and a pick-up in international trade will contribute to the increase, Ricardo Echegaray, the head of AFIP agency, told reporters in Buenos Aires.
Argentina’s tax revenue is tracked by economists as a gauge of the country’s ability to repay debt.