President Gustavo Petro objected to the bill that established VAT-free days as a state policywhich is why it was returned to Congress pending his signature. This caused opposition members, such as Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, to criticize his decision.
(Further: VAT-free days are coming to an end: President Petro objected to the project that had approved them).
“The President objected to the draft law on the VAT-free day due to the alleged lack of fiscal support, arguing that it could result in a loss of tax revenue. However, as I have reiterated, the draft law is a power granted to the government so that, if it deems it appropriate, it can decree VAT-free days.“, the senator said.
Uribe Turbay, who is the author of the initiative, argued that the objection does not require fiscal support from the Ministry of Finance.since it is optional for the government. He also indicated that the president made the decision due to issues related to political ideologies.
(Read: Objection to the return of the ‘Days without VAT’ sparked mixed opinions).
“It was objected, unfairly, by President Gustavo Petro (…) It is evident that Gustavo Petro objected to this project for political reasons, because he has never been interested, nor is he interested, in the well-being of Colombians.“, Uribe emphasized.
For his part, Gustavo Petro said that he objected to the law because “It was a parliamentary initiative, not a governmental one, and during the legislative process, the project did not have the support of the national government on the matter under discussion.”.
(See: What’s next for the days without VAT, after being objected to by President Petro?).
VAT-free day
Vanexa Romero. THE TIME
According to the senator The VAT-free days from 2020 to 2022 generated sales of 65 billion pesosbenefiting many families: “In 2020, sales achieved by the trade were equivalent to 15 billion pesos, in 2021 to 31 billion pesos and in 2022 to 20 billion pesos.”
Taking these data into account, Uribe Turbay asked Congress to reject the objection and give Colombian families the opportunity to buy household appliances, clothing, school supplies and other household items at a lower price.
(Further: The three achievements that Petro is ‘proud’ of during his presidential term).
However, Petro has already made it known that this measure was adopted considering the economic situation arising from the health crisis and “At the present time it does not comply with the fiscal impact studies that the proposal must have.“.
BRIEFCASE
