Colombian President announces withdrawal of tax reform

“From what I had shared with the Colombian people on Thursday April 30, where I communicated to the country the decision to build a new initiative, based on a consensus that allows us to find the necessary resources to pay the expenses of the pandemic and guarantee the necessary social assistance, I ask the Congress of the Republic to withdraw the project submitted by the Ministry of Finance and to urgently deal with a new project, the result of a consensus, and thus avoid financial uncertainty, ”declared President Iván Duque.

According to the president, the withdrawal of the project is based on the search for a consensus with the different political, social and commercial sectors, in order to build a new tax reform text this helps solve the nation’s public finances.

“The decision to present the reform of sustainable social transformation has a single objective and is to give the country fiscal stability, protect the social programs of the most vulnerable and generate conditions for growth after the effects of the covid-19 pandemicPresident Duque said in his speech.

The president put forward what are the points on which a consensus has been found and which could help to build the new tax reform resulting from the national dialogue with the different sectors. The main thing is that there be more tributes of solidarity on the part of the richest heritages.

“He dialogado durante los últimos días con representantes de los partidos políticos, la sociedad civil, alcaldes y gobernadores, y líderes del sector empresarial, quienes han aportado valiosas ideas para lograr esta financiación, sin afectar a la class media ya los más vulnerables, y or the principle of the proposal is that those with the highest incomes contribute in solidarity with the most vulnerable», Affirmed the president.

In this sense, the new text could take into account the proposals made by the National Association of Entrepreneurs (ANDI) and other parties, which are based on “a temporary income supplement for companies, temporarily extend the wealth tax, temporarily increase the dividend tax, create an income supplement for those with higher incomes and deepen state austerity programs», Affirmed the president.

The new text of the reform will not contain changes to VAT and food products in the basic family basket will be protected. “It is also clear that no one who does not pay income tax will pay that tax. The goal of building a consensus of solidarity must allow us to protect the most vulnerable, to protect the nation’s finances, to protect the reactivation of our country. As I said last Friday, it is the commitment of the national government to build a consensus of solidarity in the Congress of the Republic ”, declared President Duque.

The tax reform that the finance ministry released on April 14 sparked a nationwide strike that began 14 days later and spanned protests and protests until May 2. Mayors and political leaders, like protesters, have called for the project to be withdrawn to avoid more conflict and settlements amid the covid-19 pandemic.

“Reform is not a whim, reform is a necessity, withdrawing it or not was not the discussion, the real discussion is to be able to guarantee the continuity of social programs“Assured the Head of State. This in relation to the fact that, according to the government, the project was focused on obtaining resources to extend the solidarity income subsidy, free education for strata 1, 2 and 3; the extension of the formal employment support program, among other aids generated in the midst of the pandemic.

From different political sectors, the president’s decision was celebrated, as most of the benches of the Congress of the Republic had announced the rejection of the tax reform proposed by the national government.

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