Argentina Tax Agency Used Mayweather Vs Maidana Boxing Match To Catch Evaders

An Argentine tax agency found an unorthodox way to identify tax evaders: By watching a boxing match.

This past weekend, boxing king Floyd Mayweather Junior faced off Argentine boxer Marcos 'El Chino' Maidana at the MGM Grand Garden Casino in Las Vegas. While Mayweather Jr. and Maidana were dropping punches, Argentina's tax agency was busy identifying 17 tax evaders.

In a released statement -- titled "A Knockout for Taxpayers" -- the agency revealed it was looking into people who claimed to be earning small incomes but were living a larger lifestyle. Many of these individuals shelled out as much as 7,500 USD to travel to Nevada in order to watch Saturday's fight live -- one individual even owned a $150,000 Porsche.

The agency has removed 17 attendees of the fight from the low-income list and they will be mandated to pay taxes according to their hefty expenses. With the World Cup beginning in a little over a month, the tax agency plans to enforce stricter controls on Argentines that will be attendance.

Last year, Argentina's Congress passed a controversial legislation which would pardon tax evaders if they invested their hidden wealth to benefit the nation. Translation: in construction projects or buy bonds chosen by the government. The Wall Street Journal reported that the goal behind the law was to bring US Dollars into the nation's economy, since the has a demand for the currency to better its foreign exchange rate.