00:00The Colombian government issues new taxes to address the humanitarian crisis in the
00:04Catatumbo region in northeast of the country.
00:07Our colleague Hernan Tobar with the report.
00:11The Colombian government decreed a state of internal commotion following the humanitarian
00:19crisis in the Catatumbo region.
00:21In the last hours of this February 14th, it issued a decree enabling the creation of taxes
00:27on online games, oil companies and notary publics to address emergency measures to deal
00:32with this situation.
00:38When there are supervening events of manifest emergency calamities or events like these,
00:42the state must intervene and finance them from the general budget of the nation, which
00:52in this opportunity is greatly compromised in a budgetary inflexibility because the amounts
00:56of the future that the governments have left us for 185, 3 million, 60 percent of which
01:01are attributable to Duque, means that there is no budgetary space to make changes within
01:05the budget.
01:10So it is very important that there is a source of funding in the decrees of commotion in
01:13order to alleviate the very serious situation in Catatumbo.
01:23For analysts, these options to economically address the situation in Catatumbo are generated
01:27by the majority of the opposition benches, which were against the approval of the financing
01:31law proposed by the government, an action considered as a boycott to the social policies
01:36promoted by President Gustavo Petro.
01:42Both the tax on chance, hydrocarbons and notaries are highly technical taxes in that they are
01:47levied on montier sectors of the economy and not on productive sectors.
01:52Moreover, they have a clear component of progressivity in that they will be paid proportionally
01:56by those who have more resources, something that is a constitutional mandate that is generally
02:01not fulfilled in Colombia.
02:03This is expected to raise one billion pesos this year, which should be sufficient for
02:07the problems in Catatumbo.
02:14The decree of internal commotion was signed by the Colombian government in response to
02:18the humanitarian and security crisis in the Catatumbo region.
02:21Department of Norte de Santander, where clashes and attacks between National Liberation Army,
02:26guerrilla blocs and former revolutionary armed forces of Colombia dissidents have left more
02:30than 50,000 people displaced and 20,000 confined.
02:34In this context, these taxes will be implemented to guarantee public order and economic stability
02:39in the region and to promote social and humanitarian assistance programs.
02:45Of course it is an injection of new resources to this zone because they are very important
02:52as long as they obey the action plan that must be agreed upon with the communities.
02:57If this is done outside the traditional organizations of the territory, outside the wishes of the
03:03people, then surely these resources will not have the impact we want in the construction
03:06of peace.
03:14According to the Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Colombia, Diego Guevara, these taxes
03:18will be extended until December and stated that a new tax reform containing the three
03:23taxes on a permanent basis will be presented.
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