COLOMBIA

On June 16, the President of Colombia, Iván Duque, announced that the new tax reform -called “Sustainable Social Investment”- will be introduced on July 20, when the ordinary sessions of Congress resume. The presentation of the bill will be with a message of urgency. This means that the Third and Fourth Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate would meet at the same time to speed up the approval of the bill.

 The objective of the reform is to obtain the necessary resources to strengthen social policies, which include traditional programs, free education and subsidies for youth employment. In this sense, the funds required to maintain the Solidarity Income Program are assured until August. 

 According to the government, among the main sources of financing of the next reform is the deferral of benefits for companies, the increase in taxes for higher income individuals, an austerity plan for public spending, reduction of tax evasion and avoidance, and sale of national assets. The second version of the tax reform, which will not have structural changes in income, VAT and pensions, will seek to raise some 14 trillion pesos.