After a strong controversy arose around the publication of the income tax returns of public officialsthese documents are now available on the website of Public Service.
It is worth remembering that the councilor of the Democratic Center party, Daniel Briceñohad made a complaint in which assures that the government of President Gustavo Petro would be hiding these tax documents made by public servants and officials.
Briceño, through his social networks, stated that since May a compliance action was filed for the Government to republish all the income tax returns of officials.
(You can read: Council of State revoked sanction against Petro for lack of appointments in the Creg).
Laura Sarabia
Presidency
Under that same line is the Senator Angélica Lozanowho also filed a compliance action that triggered a response from the Public Service on October 22. The entity indicated that it was carrying out the respective reviews and technical adjustments in the Public Integrity application.
“In June we demanded the annulment of those absurd resolutions of the Superintendency of Industry and Commerce of the Duque government, it must be said, before the Council of State and we have just received the good news because on November 5 they will be loaded into the system again.“said the senator.
Gustavo Bolívar’s property in Miami
Briceño’s complaint affected some officials, as in the case of Gustavo Bolívar, current director of the Department of Social Prosperity (DPS)whom he accuses of hiding his income tax return and transferring a property in Miami (USA) to his son.
(You may be interested in: President Petro decorated police officers and former M-19 guerrillas in the same ceremony).
The councilor indicated that he asked Bolívar for a copy of his income tax return, but he was denied it, so he filed a protection action and the Court ordered the senior official to publish his income tax return; nevertheless, Bolívar protected the magistrate who gave him this order.
Gustavo Bolivar
The Time
The DPS director responded to Briceño telling him that he has always declared his assets and that his income tax return is uploaded to the SIGEP and is public.
“My son made the mortgage for 1.69 million dollars, because I couldn’t do it and as soon as he did it, I asked him to include me in the deed again with the same 50%. I have never evaded anything. I have always shown that I am the one who pays the most taxes and I do it with national pride and without anger. I have always declared my assets before the Dian. Since June, the house was put in the name of a company of which my son and I are owners, again, in equal shares.“said Bolívar.
The defense of Rusinque
This situation generated comments around it, one of the most striking being that of Cielo Rusinque, current Superintendent of Industry and Commerceensuring that Briceño would not have told the full story
(Besides: They open an investigation into former presidents of the Senate and House of Representatives for corruption).
“The Creole Sherlock Holmes, in one of his delirious outbursts of false morality, wanted to pose as the guardian of integrity and public transparency. To do this, a story has been invented in which, only, the beginning and the end were omitted.“, the official began by saying.
Rusinque Sky
Department of Social Prosperity
The official, also through a video, on October 30, gave some statements “with the aim of closing a false debate based on a chain of misinformation”, according to her, released by the councilor.
“It is not true that the income tax returns will be republished thanks to the councilor. That would be ignoring the processes of public administration and law. The SIC issued resolution 56588, 2024. In it, the decisions that allowed the anonymization of public officials’ data were revoked in all parts for not generally conforming to the principles of publicity and transparency established in the 2013 law. of 2019, it is worth saying, it was a decision of the Andrés Barreto administration, that is, of the Duque government.“said the superintendent.
(Continue reading: Risks of the 2025 budget are not resolved and continue to threaten investment).
And he added: “In this way we organized the way so that Public Function could guarantee today the conditions of publication of information of public servants and in particular the income declaration of senior State officials.”.
The statements of Gustavo Petro and Francia Márquez
Therefore, Since this Tuesday, the income tax returns of President Petro and other officials have already been uploaded in the system..
As EL TIEMPO was able to establish, the income tax return of the head of state It was published on November 1 and corresponds to the year 2023. In the document, records that the total gross equity is 1,573 million pesos, the debts are 280 million pesos, for a total liquid equity of 1,292 million pesos.
Gustavo Petro’s income tax return
Screenshot
For its part, the Vice President Francia Márquez He published his statement on August 21. The official records a gross equity of 395 million pesos and a debt of 318,964,000 in debt, for a liquid equity of 76 million pesos.
Francia Márquez’s income tax return
Screenshot
Statements from other key officials
One of the statements that generated the most controversy was that of the director of the DPS. EL TIEMPO was able to establish that Gustavo Bolívar published his income tax return on March 1, the day he was appointed to this position. Therefore, this corresponds to 2022.
In the document it can be seen that Its gross assets are 9,955 million pesos, debts are 1,547 million pesos and total liquid assets are 8,407 million..
The declaration of the Superintendent of Industry and Commerce, Cielo Rusinquealso from 2022, shows that It has a gross equity of 423 million pesos and debts of 38 million pesos, for a liquid equity of 384 million pesos.
Income tax return
iStock
Already speaking of the director of the Administrative Department of the Presidency (Dapre), Laura Sarabiain the document he records that he has a gross equity of 58 million pesos and debts of 77 million pesos, for a total liquid equity of zero pesos.
Finally, the Colombian ambassador to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Armando Benedettipublished his last income tax return on February 5, when he was appointed to this position, so his return, like that of Bolívar and Rusinque, is from 2022. There you can see that his gross assets are 2,668 million pesos and debts of 609 million pesos for a liquid assets of 2,058 million pesos..
PORTFOLIO
*With information from EL TIEMPO – POLITICS
