1st LD Writethru: Argentina imposes 35 pct tax on foreign currency purchases to stave off hoarding

BUENOS AIRES, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Argentina on Wednesday unveiled a new 35 percent tax on foreign currency purchases to prevent the public from hoarding U.S. dollars in the face of a weak peso.

The measure, announced by the Federal Administration of Public Revenues, the tax collection agency, and published in the Government Gazette, came a day after the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic said it would tighten currency controls to dampen the demand for U.S. dollars.