Weapons will not have VAT, funerals will: more controversial exemptions and additions in the new tax reform

It’s no secret that the new tax reform, dubbed “ Sustainable Social Transformation ” or “ Sustainable Solidarity Law ”, already has many critics of several controversial proposals. like extending income tax to more Colombians. However, this is not the only problematic idea in the 110-page document.

In fact, in the last few hours, other questionable proposals have been reported as part of the economic restructuring plan. tabled by the government of President Iván Duque before the Congress of the Republic on April 15. Several of them concerned the value added tax (VAT) which for Colombia represents 19 percent of the value of each product.

Perhaps the most famous is related to the imposition of this tax on all public services for Colombians in strata 4, 5 and 6, but mainly access to drinking water, a right enshrined in articles 16 and 20 of the Colombian political constitution. The question is even more scandalous when you consider that there are exemptions for that sold in the bottle, “Including natural or artificial mineral water and sparkling water, not containing added sugar or other sweetening or flavoring, ice and snow.”

A similar case is that which concerns the whole technological section, including the Internet connection service, which loses the exemption from this surcharge for people in stratum 3 from next year. Likewise, there will be VAT for desktops and laptops, as well as for smart mobile devices such as tablets and cellphones.

The above, despite the fact that the government itself promotes virtual work even with a law which, at the moment, depends only on the presidential signature. The same, therefore, the purchase of these technological devices, which have experienced a commercial peak since last year, gives an almost mandatory boost because of the pandemic.

On the other hand, there are funeral and cremation services, which have also disappeared from the exemption list and which, therefore, will also be taxed. This, perhaps, at the most sassy moment possible: Only the covid-19 pandemic kills 67,564 today, And even if the government meets its herd immunity target this year, there are still more causes of death in the country, including violence against social leaders which so far in 2021 has left 47 dead. ; 1,161 since the signing of the peace agreement, according to Indepaz.

Speaking of violence and death, it keeps getting attention “Weapons of war, with the exception of revolvers, pistols and bladed weapons, for the exclusive use of military forces and the national police are always exempt., as well as major and minor weapons and weapon systems of all types, models and calibers with their spare accessories and the elements necessary for shooting instruction, operation, management and maintenance of these.

The same applies to ammunition, torpedoes and mines of all types, classes and calibers for weapons systems and major and minor weapons used by military forces and the national police; and for the design, construction and maintenance of weapons, ammunition and war material, intended for the public force, as well as the training of law enforcement crews, provided by decentralized entities in the national defense sector.

Despite this, Duque was quite blunt in defending the reform this Friday morning, questioning that, “if in the past tax reforms were made to finance the demobilization, disarmament and reintegration of the few who were armed against the institutionsHow can we not do it today for the poorest in our society ”.

At the same time, there is the food industry, which adds to the concern of the agricultural union after learning that there will be VAT for the inputs of the production chain of these items, which can end up making them more expensive, affecting their sales.

The same happens with hydrocarbons, where it is offered the arrival of the 19% tax on gasoline and diesel, as well as an increase in their surcharges, which are configured as a factor in increasing the costs of transport services.

Despite criticism, Duque insists this is a reform needed to stabilize the country’s finances and continue to generate support for those with limited resources. As an argument, he assures us that it is an “effort where the one who has the most is the one who contributes the most, while maintaining this principle of solidarity, equity, progressiveness and austerity too ”.

“It is the demagogues and populists who postpone decisions so that they fall into the hands of others, and play with the reality of a country, ”he said today.

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