Summary (English)

In order to increase social protection coverage and reach unprotected workers, Argentina instituted a simplified tax regime for small contributors to facilitate their contributions to national pension and health insurance schemes. The scheme, known as Monotributo, has evolved and expanded rapidly since its launch in 1998. At present, it reaches just over 2 million people, who make contributions to the pension system and enjoy coverage by the national health insurance scheme. This note presents the characteristics of this regime, the reasons for its expansion and the lessons that can be learned from it. It further highlights the challenges involved in creating bridging solutions for extending social protection to alter the incentives for individuals to further develop and formalize their enterprises.