Colombia’s Congress approves wealth tax
Colombia’s Congress approves wealth tax
Dec 16, 2014 posted by Adriaan Alsema
Colombia’s Congress has approved a polemic wealth tax meant to increase revenue for the government that — faced with dropping oil prices — is more than $5 billion short of closing the 2015 budget.
The tax reform was approved by the House of Representatives in the final voting round, days after the Senate had approved the reform. The bill will now be sent to President Juan Manuel Santos for sanctioning.
The newly approved wealth tax is meant to increase the government’s spending power with $22 billion in the coming four years. Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas told press after the vote that the money will mainly be used for social investment projects.
According to the new tax system, those who possess property worth more than $500 thousand will have to pay a 1.15% tax over this property next year. The tax rate will then gradually be lowered and abandoned in 2018 for businesses as agreed with employers.
More:
http://colombiareports.co/colombias-congress-approves-wealth-tax/
