Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella has marked 100 days in office by filing a tax reform, the Ley de Rescate Fiscal, as his main fiscal measure. The bill was submitted with an urgency message and combines tax changes with spending adjustments.
At the start of the second week of November, roughly six weeks remained to pass the bill without extraordinary sessions. The government says the measure is meant to raise additional revenue worth 2.2 percent of GDP.
Deficit under pressure
The fiscal deficit is projected at 7.2 percent of GDP for 2026. Anif has warned that without correction, the deficit of the Gobierno Nacional Central could exceed 9 percent of GDP in 2027.
Minister Miguel Gómez has described the bill as resting on five axes: fiscal, social, health, investment and state rescue.
Composition in dispute
Junco says 31 trillion pesos of the package corresponds to parafiscales, contributions and consumption taxes, with an effective state spending cut of 12 trillion pesos. He has criticised the balance of the adjustment, saying 70 percent rests on austerity against 30 percent on taxes.
The bill proposes a VAT refund for lower-income Colombians, a measure the government says would reach 19 million people, and would direct 30 trillion pesos to health over four years. It would also raise VAT on hybrid and electric vehicles and on prepaid medicine programs, from 5 percent to 19 percent.
From 2028, the proposal would alter VAT exclusions on food. Rice, potato, cassava, panela and bread would stay exempt, while coffee, chocolate, salt, sugar, pasta and oils would become taxable.
The scope of the final measure depends on how Congress handles the articulado as debate proceeds.
Source: Anif
