The President of Anato asked the government to prioritize the fight against evasion rather than increase taxes.
Within the framework of the National Congress of Travel and Tourism Agencies, Anato President Paula Cortés expressed concern about the effects that the new tax reform would have In Colombian tourism. As explained, the project includes changes in VAT, consumer taxes, carbon, goods such as liquors and tobacco, as well as rental adjustments and heritage.
Cortés said that tourism already faces a contraction in the number of travelers in the country. “Obviously, we consider many other Colombians and many other sectors of the economy, understanding the need that the government has, That at this time it is not time to present a tax reform, ”he said.
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The union leader recalled that Dane surveys show that about 500 thousand people have stopped traveling in Colombia due to the economic situation.
“If we add to that to increase the consumption tax, because obviously we would be directly affecting our sector And in any case we would not agree to do it, ”he said.
Cortés also caught attention to the need to strengthen inspection instead of loading formal taxpayers more.
“There is a great evasion of tax payment, there is a lot of informality. Of the total of 23 million people with work in Colombia, 13 million They are in informality. I think that more on that side you could do a great tax inspection, ”he said.
Although he acknowledged that the decision corresponds to Congress, he emphasized that the tourism sector is not willing to assume major loads. “We would not be willing to put a greater cost of tourists who is not traveling through Colombia today precisely due to the high tax costs, ”he said.
On the other hand, he highlighted the role that tourism is playing in the Colombian economy on behalf of sustained growth in the generation of currencies.
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“We have very good news for the country and it is the sustained growth that we have had in the foreign exchange for tourism. Last year we closed with 10 billion dollars in currencies, with a growth of 12%, ”he said.
According to figures from the Bank of the Republic, in the first quarter of this year there are already 2.8 billion dollars, which represents a similar increase of 12%. “That tells us that tourism is surpassing coal and coffee currencies, and it is 86% of what oil is in our country”accurate.
The union leader stressed that this behavior consolidated to the sector as the second line of the national economy. “More and more tourism is strengthened. Not only is important currencies to the country, but it is also generating employment and being an important dynamic in the regions,” he added.
Source: Integrated information system
