According to the Network of Food Banks of Colombia (ABACO), with the Tax Reform donations of food and resources to buy it would decreaseand would increase waste by more than 23 thousand tons per year.
(The taxes that the tributary brings: Minhacienda explains the project).
The foregoing would occur after the application of articles 11, on the reduction of the tax benefit for the donation of money or food, 513-1, 513-5, 513-6, 513-8, 513-10, with which it is sought a tax on donations of food and beverages.
What would force the Food Banks to neglect a million people in a situation of vulnerability, people whose nutritional status would worsen.
(The changes that have the taxes for pensioners in the tax).
“The tax benefit for donating food has been an important tool in the evolution of the policy against hunger and food waste in the country. Reducing this tax benefit and also taxing donations of some foods and beverages means going back more than a decade in the policy against waste, motivating producers and merchants to make the decision to sell their surplus food for animal consumption in instead of donating them for human consumption. We don’t want to see pigs from all over the country again feeding on the yogurts that children who have nothing to eat should be eating,” said Juan Carlos Buitrago, director of ABACO.
The worst global food crisis in the last decade
According to the International Monetary Fund we are in the worst world food crisis of the last decade. Currently, 828 million people are hungry in the world.
Phenomena such as displacement generated by violence, natural disasters, poverty increased by the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine have seriously increased the production, distribution and prices of food around the world.
In Colombia, the situation is critical. According to the Dane, 19.6 million people are in monetary poverty with average per capita income of 354 thousand pesos per month, of these, 6.1 million people live in extreme poverty with average monthly income of 161 thousand pesos with which they cannot buy a minimum food basket.
According to the Social Pulse survey, currently, 12 million Colombians eat twice a day, 670 thousand Colombians eat once a day and 51 thousand Colombians eat less than once a day.
The consequences of this situation are reflected in the population under 5 years of age. The National Institute of Health announced that, this year, there have been reports of 15,237 cases of moderate or severe acute malnutrition in children under five years of ageand 208 children under 5 years of age have died from malnutrition or related causes.
“We all want a healthy and wholesome diet for the Colombian population, but we cannot ignore the serious food crisis we are going through. All foods and all drinks are important to alleviate this crisis that will last for years. That is why from the Food Banks of Colombia we make a respectful and fraternal call to the Government and the honorable congressmen of this country to review the current Tax Reform project and, if possible, eliminate the tax on donations and maintain the tax benefit for food donation. The Food Banks want to be part of the National Agreement Against Hunger and we are sure that with these measures, together we can build a Colombia without hunger,” added Buitrago.
BRIEFCASE
