Duque wants to raise taxes on Colombia's middle class and poor; will congress let him?
by Adriaan Alsema November 1, 2018
The government of Colombia’s President Ivan Duque wants to raise income tax on the middle class and introduce sales tax on basic food products, and on Tuesday called this a “progressive” tax bill.
Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla formally presented the tax bill before Congress on Wednesday, where it is likely to receive fierce opposition.
The tax bill includes the introduction of a 19% sales tax on basic food products, which is highly controversial; many of Colombia’s poor already don’t have enough money for food, basic food products have traditionally been exempt from sales taxes.
Furthermore, Duque and Carrasquilla want to lower the threshold for for income tax for low-income workers earning more than $623 (COP1.9 million) per month. Until now, only the middle class and the upper class, people earning more than $1,200 (COP3.7 million), must pay income tax.
More:
https://colombiareports.com/duque-wants-to-raise-taxes-on-colombias-middle-class-and-poor-will-congress-let-him/
