The government of President Gustavo Petro, through the Ministry of Finance, publicly stated a few days ago that it will present a second tax reform, which would have as its main objective the modification of some taxes to reactivate the productive sectors of the country.
This announcement, as expected, has generated quite a bit of controversy in Colombia, since less than two years ago a tax reform was approved, which, apparently, has not had the expected results. One of the last to speak out on this issue was José Manuel Restrepo.
The former Minister of Finance spoke exclusively with Vicky on SEMANA on Wednesday, July 3, where he said that it is rather inappropriate to present a new project at this time, since there is currently a lot of uncertainty and mistrust.
“It is not a good time for tax matters either. Among other things, because we know that we have to make a cut of almost 50 billion pesos. I think that this is not necessarily the way and, in addition, it may take a long time, because this will surely not be achieved by the end of this year,” accurate.
Restrepo also took advantage of the conversation with this media outlet to send a message to the National Government and the Colombian head of state, stressing that it is important that they leave their “arrogance” behind and listen more to the people.
“I think a smaller dose of arrogance is needed. You have to have two ears and one mouth, so you have to talk less and listen more. You have to be less active on Twitter, and try to build consensus with the different people.” initially stated.
Then he sentenced: “We must materialize the symbol of unity by building with the different. I believe that Juan Fernando Cristo is a man of consensus. The government must be able to listen and understand that if certainty is not achieved, it will be very difficult to achieve the results of the government itself and the future of the country.”
It should be noted that Minister Bonilla stated that the reforms made in 2021 and 2022 were largely consumed by the Fuel Price Stabilization Fund (FPEC). He also reiterated that on June 28, the payment of 5.1 billion pesos to Ecopetrol to cover the FPEC began.
“The operation is carried out in a coordinated manner with Ecopetrol, and reflects the commitment to continue honoring the obligations as it has been done since the first day of this government, in order to protect the financial health of the oil company,” the official concluded.
