The Ministry of Finance announced the date for the days without VAT to be held in 2022 in Colombia, two of them the same weekend in which the elections to the Congress and the Presidency of the country are scheduled, something that has raised controversy with a part of public opinion accusing the Government of having electoral motivation.
(Read: Days without VAT 2022: these would be the dates of the three days).
In a draft decree published by the Ministry of the Treasury, it is stated that the days without VAT planned for 2022 They will be held on March 11 —two days before the legislative elections—, June 17 —two days before the first round of the Colombian presidential elections— and December 2.
From the Administration, however, they defended that these are coincidences that had not been planned, while criticism was unleashed on social networks by accusing the president, Iván Duque, and his cabinet of having electoral motivations when decreeing the measure.
(What’s more: Day without VAT of 2022 would have less effectiveness in inflation).
For his part, the president of the National Federation of Merchants (Fenalco), Jaime Alberto Cabal, received “in a positive way” March 11 summons “after the recommendation” that they transferred to the Government.
“This day will encourage consumption and demand in the first quarter and will boost the economy”, he added on his social networks. During the days without VAT, when there are large crowds and queues in stores in Colombia, a large number of items are exempt from sales tax.
According to the legislation, the days without VAT can be up to three days a year. The Government justified the issuance of the new days without VAT “in the need to continue with the reactivation of the economy through the promotion of sales to the different economic sectors of the country that commercialize goods taxed with the sales tax.”
(Keep reading: Days without VAT: A boost for e-commerce in Colombia).
For the determination of the days without VAT for the year 2022, it was taken into account the collection of sales tax for all bimonthly periods of the last 5 years in order to determine the month, or months, that would allow the purpose of the rule to be fulfilled, the decree reads.
EFE
