Through a letter sent to Janet Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States; Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce; Katherine Tai, commercial representative of that country; with copy to Luis Gilberto Murillo Urrutia, Ambassador of Colombia to the United States, major telecommunications companies and trade associations in the US stated “serious concerns” by the recent tax reform bill that contains new requirements for companies that invest and export to Colombia.
(Tax: pension tax falls and more Petro announcements).
“Bill 118 of 2022 would negatively impact US exports of goods and services and would contravene the letter and spirit of the Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and the United States. in various ways (…) We urge you to engage immediately with your Colombian counterparts to ensure that it is not approved in its current form”says the document.
The letter was signed by companies such as ACT | The App Association, American Chemistry Council, Coalition of Services Industries, Computer & Communications Industry Association, Express Association of America, Information Technology Industry Council, National Foreign Trade Council, Silicon Valley Tax Directors Group, TechNet, Travel Technology Association, US Chamber of Commerce and United States Council for International Business.
(Asoleche says that tax puts food security at risk).
Telecommunications companies.
Among the questions, it is indicated that the tax reform “contemplates to impose taxes on non-residents solely on the basis of having a deliberate and systematic interaction with users or clients in Colombia, taking into account a certain amount of gross income, the number of Colombian clients or users, or use of prices or acceptance of payments in the local currency.
“First, as currently drafted, Sections 48 and 52 would potentially apply to all U.S. companies that ship merchandise to Colombia, regardless of their physical presence in Colombia,” point out. And they point out that, therefore, taxes on US companies selling goods to Colombia would nullify the tariff exemption provided to US exports.
(Tax would affect the country’s growth, according to Rudolf Hommes).
In addition, they warn that taxes on digital services directly contravene the “rollback and moratorium” unilateral fiscal measures during the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) negotiations.
“We also note that any tax under the proposal, whether through withholding or filing a tax return, if enacted, would put U.S. companies that are active in listed industries at a competitive disadvantage relative to non-US competitors active in Colombia”, they add.
In another section they point out that the changes proposed in the reform “It will hurt America’s SMEs and their employees, who already face a host of challenges, including high levels of inflation.”
For all of the above, the unions and trade associations asked the US government to ask Colombia “make a consideration of this project and launch a consultation with interested parties, including multinational companies doing business in Colombia” and that the terms and conditions of the Free Trade Agreement between Colombia and the United States be taken into account.
BRIEFCASE
