The Government of Colombia presented this Monday before Congress a tax reform bill to obtain in an initial phase an additional 25 billion pesos (5,763 million dollars) in 2023, equivalent to 1.72% of GDP, to finance the social projects of the President Gustavo Petro.
The following are the main aspects of the fiscal project, which would gradually increase collection with anti-evasion and anti-avoidance measures until reaching an additional 50 billion pesos per year (11,528 million dollars) at the end of the Petro Government in 2026:
Compliance with the fiscal rule is guaranteed, but the speed at which the deficit will decrease is evaluated. At the close of this Monday, August 8, 1 US dollar was equivalent to approximately 4,341 Colombian pesos.
* It will seek to collect 8.1 billion pesos in income tax and personal wealth.
* Dividends are included in the taxable base of income and complementary taxes and will be subject to the rate established according to income level.
* The exempt income is reduced from 120 million pesos per year to 50 million pesos.
* The rental rate for a person who receives 11 million pesos per month starts to pay a rate of 6.4%, from the current 4.6%.
* The maximum rate, paid by those who receive 140 million pesos per month, would rise to 25.7% from 16.4%
* A wealth tax is established with a marginal rate of 0.5% for those with resources between 3,000 and 5,000 million pesos and 1% for those above 5,000 million pesos. An exempt income of 500 million pesos is proposed to protect residential housing.
* An extraordinary export tax will be levied at a rate of 10% on foreign sales of oil over a price above 48 dollars per barrel, 87 dollars per ton of coal and 411 dollars per ounce of gold.
* Royalties will not be subject to income tax deduction.
* Thermal and mineral coal is included in the taxable base of the carbon tax, with a rate of 0% in 2023 and 2024, 25% of the value of the full rate in 2025, 50% of the value of the full rate in 2026, 75% of the value of the full rate in 2027 and with full rate from 2028.
* 5.1 billion pesos will be obtained for lower exemptions to companies.
* Some sectoral and/or regional tax benefits are eliminated and a limit of 3 percentage points on ordinary liquid income is imposed on tax benefits that are maintained (exempt income, deductions, discounts, income not constituting income).
* The dividend rate will be 20% for foreign companies and natural persons not resident in Colombia.
* The 50% discount of the ICA payment ends and becomes a deduction.
* The free zones will have an export vocation, if a company located in one of these does not meet a minimum of foreign sales that will be defined by the Government, it will lose tax benefits.
* The rental rate in the free zones, currently 20%, would increase to 35% if they do not comply with an internationalization plan that they must present within a year after the approval of the norm.
* The tax on single-use plastics is created, taxing the sale and import of products made with that material used to package, pack or package goods only once.
The rate is 0.00005 UVT per gram of the container, packaging or packaging, which is equivalent to 1.9 pesos per gram.
* A tax is created for ultra-processed sugary drinks, its rate will be based on the sugar content in grams per 100 milliliters.
* Sugary drinks have two tax rates depending on the amount of sugar. They will not pay if they have less than 4 grams of sugar. For beverages with 4 to 8 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters, the rate is 18 pesos per 100 milliliters, and for beverages with more than 8 grams of sugar per 100 milliliters, it is 35 pesos per 100 milliliters.
*Ultra-processed edible products will be recorded with excess sugar at a rate of 10% ad value.
* The 3% income surcharge for companies in the financial sector is established as permanent until 2025.
* Other measures include the elimination of the day without VAT, a tax on imports of origin, free zones, border zones, a 3% cap on tax benefits and the modification of income exempt from occasional profits.
