BUENOS AIRES, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Argentina is investigatingits biggest steel maker for allegedly avoiding taxes byheadquartering its parent company in Luxembourg, the chief ofthe tax authority, AFIP, said on Saturday.
Ricardo Echegaray did not mention the company by name in atelevised interview but said it bases its official business inLuxembourg to skip paying corporate taxes in Buenos Aires.
Argentina's Techint Group, with headquarters in Luxembourg,owns the world's biggest producer of steel pipes for the energyindustry, Tenaris.
"The main steel company in Argentina has set up its holdingcompany in Luxembourg," Echegaray said on local channel America.
"The monies that this Argentine company, which develops itsactivities from Argentina, makes ... remain hidden and we don'ttax them," he added.
Techint was not available for immediate comment.
On Nov. 27, AFIP alleged that HSBC was helping morethan 4,000 clients evade taxes by stashing their money in secretSwiss bank accounts. HSBC Argentina rejected thecharges.
On Nov. 2 the tax authority said it had suspended Procter &Gamble's local operations after accusing it of tax fraud.AFIP said then that it had to put an end to "these tricks usedby international companies" to avoid tax.
P&G said at the time it did not pursue aggressive taxpractices and was working to fully understand the allegationsand resolve them. (Reporting By Maximiliano Rizzi, Writing by Mitra Taj; Editingby Mark Trevelyan)