The Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampolistened for 7 hours this Wednesday to about 70 unions, academics and different sectors their contributions to the tax reform presented by the president Gustav Petro.
After listening to them, he asserted that “it is uncomfortable to say: we must eliminate tax benefits, period. It is uncomfortable but it is the task of the Government”.
Meanwhile, he asserted that they are open to reviewing the issue of dividends, occasional earnings, and some specific issues such as culture, cinema, Social Interest Housing, “There are several that can be considered in the coming debate.”
The president of the business association (Andi), Bruce Mac Masterinsisted that the government’s collection aspiration should be cut, going from 25 billion pesos to 8 billion pesos, since he pointed out that the economy cannot withstand the current size of the reform.
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In this regard, Ocampo replied that “the tax reform is not recessive”, so he ruled this out.
For its part, the Fenalco trade union pointed out that this reform would jeopardize economic growth and job creation.
“The reform could affect the savings, consumption and investment capacity of Colombians, both natural persons and legal entities (companies), placing the country’s economic growth and employment at high risk,” said Jaime Alberto Cabal, president of Fenalco.
On the subject, the head of the Treasury portfolio assured that “There are no serious studies on the impact of tax benefits on the country’s economic activity.”
Fenalco also proposed the sale of unproductive assets and collect 22 billion that are seized from drug trafficking in the SSpecial Assets Company (SAE).
On the other hand, Sandra Forero, president of Camacol, pointed out that the impact of the reform would be to stop building 100,000 homes a year.