The discussion of the General Budget of the Nation began for the validity of 2026, the first step before the Legislative was the presentation of the bill by the National Government to the Second Economic Commissions and Senate and Chamber Quarters.
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Within this delivery of data to the Congress, several actors from the main economic entities of the country participated, such as the manager of the Bank of the Republic, Leonardo Villar who in his speech gave a support to a ‘Integral fiscal reform’.
“It is necessary to advance in an integral fiscal reform and a technical process oriented to the revision of the inflexible or inertial expend different levels of government and contribute to the stability of national finances in the medium term”Villar said.
But after the support, the issuer also put his position on the table mentioning that the project of General Budget of the Nation for 2026 It shows the structural challenges facing the country to ensure fiscal sustainability and budget governance.
“The budget project responds to the goals established in the medium -term fiscal framework, which includes the activation of the exhaust clause provided for the fiscal rule, which will result in higher deficits and higher levels of debt between the 2025 and 2027 2021, the Government considers it necessary to adopt a fiscal pact that allows to increase tax revenues and reduce inflexible expenditure from some previously contemplated items in different laws ”added the emitter manager.
Manager of the Bank of the Republic, Leonardo Villar expresses his points on the budget of 2026.
Courtesy: Mauricio Moreno
What does the Nation General Budget project contain?
The proposal that filed the Ministry of Finance before Congress contemplates an amount of $ 557 billion, the highest in history. In the disaggregated an investment of $ 88 billion, a debt service of $ 102.4 billion and an operation of $ 365.8 billion.
“By 2025 we had a structure of $ 525.8 distributed, distributed in 84%investment that represented 16%, debt service $ 112 billion (21.4%) and operation $ 329 billion which is 62.6%. In 2026, we have that the investment represents 88.8 billion, equivalent to 15.9%, debt service $ 102.4 billion, 18.4%and operation $ 365.8 billion equivalent to 65.7% for a total of $ 557 billion ”, said Germán Ávila, Minister of Finance and Public Credit.
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Within the disaggregated by sectors, for the other year it is expected that the education sector has $ 88.2 billion being the economic activity that will have more resources, follows health and social protection with $ 78.1 billion, defense and police will have $ 68.6 billion, work $ 59.4 billion, hacienda $ 31.6 billion and transport with $ 17.6 billion.
In contrast those of lower budget allocation for the other year are: intelligence with $ 189,000 million, sports and recreation $ 312,000, science, technology and innovation with innovation with $ 385,000, employment $ 668,000 and information and statistics $ 854,000.
Germán Ávila, Minister of Finance and Public Credit.
Courtesy: Mauricio Moreno
The tax reform is maintained to finance part of the budget
In the presentation to the joint economic commissions of Senate and Chamber, Ávila reiterated that the approval of the new tax reform is necessary in order to finance $ 26.3 billion of this budget.
“We believe that the proposal that we are going to bring from the Financing Law will guarantee not only the stability of the 2026 budget, but for the next five years it will ensure consistent or recurring income that will guarantee the fiscal balance of the next four -year, with this proposal the tax reform is more thinking about the coming years than in the exercise of 2026 for the current government,” said Ávila.
In addition, the portfolio holder announced that it will review the tax benefits of VAT, applied to the consumption of “mostly” goods and services of people with higher income. Likewise, he confirmed in the presentation that the initiative proposes to tax liquor and tobacco consumers and increase the progressivity of income taxes and heritage.
In the same way, it aims to strengthen carbon tax taxation schemes, the consumer tax and healthy taxes.
Plenary of joint economic commissions in budget presentation.
Courtesy: Mauricio Moreno
What do congressmen say?
After the presentation, the congressmen of the different political parties announced their views on this articulate that began their procedure. Some of the parliamentarians requested that the amount of the budget be reduced.
“Unfortunately, the budget that they have presented to us does not seek to solve the serious problem of the increase in operating expenses against the social investment of our country, it is clear that those $ 557 billion, we are going to spend $ 366 billion in operation, payment of debt $ 102 billion and the investment to hardly reaches a figure of $ 89 billion. Our country is not viable like this and one would expect that this government would have taken measures. of the amount in about $ 39 billion”, Said Christian Garcés, representative to the Chamber for the Democratic Center.
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In turn, Efraín Cepeda, senator of the Conservative Party said that the tax reform has no purpose since last year they stopped executing about $ 40 billion and this year goes for the same situation.
“For $ 26 billion to want if $ 80.5 billion were not executed last year, highlighting that almost half $ 39 billion were of investment that Colombians stayed waiting that with those $ 40 billion they had the school, the bridge or the road and this year of the $ 83 billion investment to July 30, only $ 25 has been executed, so that only equals the 30% that have stopped executing almost $ 50 billion Billions without executing it can’t be! ”said Cepeda.
Leidy Julieth Ruiz Clavijo
Portfolio journalist
