Confiscation

Argentine law exempts newsprint from import duties when it is used for "cultural" purposes. Last week the Peron government ruled that newsprint used for advertising is subject to the tariff. From the Ministry of Finance to the chief opposition papers went telegrams demanding payment of back duties. For La Prensa, ordered to come across in 72 hours, the ruling meant that its recent "expropriation" by the government was actually confiscation; the $2,300,000 assessed for customs would probably just cancel out the newspaper's "value" the way the government will compute it. For La Nacion, which got no specific deadline to pay its $1,250,000 in back duties, the message was an ominous hint of doom.

Peronista papers print advertising too. But they got no telegrams from the Ministry of Finance.

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