One of the immovable of the tax reform project of the Petro Government is that people with higher incomes pay more. This was established by José Antonio Ocampo, Minister of Finance, at the end of the meeting with the members of the Third Commission of the House of Representatives in which the work schedule for the discussion of the tax initiative .
(Read: Radical Change Party will not support the tax project).
Other proposals such as dividends or certain taxes on natural persons can be transformed, according to the senior official. However, Ocampo was emphatic that plus taxes for high-income individuals will not be changed because “it is part of the redistributive effect of wealth that this reform has.”
The head of public finance explained that the schedule to be developed in the next few weeks was presented at said meeting. two weeks in the Third Economic Commissions of the Chamber and Senate to discuss the tax reformwhich includes work sessions, meetings with the rapporteurs, and also with the opposition, “one of the rules for discussing the reform.”
Accordingly, next week Ocampo will meet with the production unions in Bogotá so that businessmen can express their vision of the tax reform. Also on Thursday he will have a meeting in Barranquilla and another in Cúcuta. All before the vote on the reform.
The senior official has been open to dialogue and new proposals, which he said will be evaluated from a legal point of view.
Referring to the possibility of reducing the collection amount of 25 billion pesos, as stated by Bruce Mac Master, president of Andi, Ocampo said that for the business sector there are not many changes “here the bulk of the collection is for high-income individuals and also for the hydrocarbon and coal sector, additional taxes and a change in the rules of ragalías“.
The minister also assured that one of the big changes will be in the free zonesalthough on these there was an agreement for them to start exporting.
(Keep reading: Clothing manufacturers ask to include differential VAT in the tax reform).
Finally, Ocampo will have meetings with the representatives of the bench of Radical change who announced, in the last few hours, that they will not vote for the reform. “That is part of the dialogues that will be held with all the actors of society around the initiative” for their greater understanding and comprehension, he said.
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