Colombia’s incoming finance minister seeks to assuage corporate concerns

Colombians look to Miami as Gustavo Petro’s election sparks capital flight fears
09 Jul 2022
Colombia and Venezuela poised for a reset of relations under Gustavo Petro
17 Jul 2022

José Antonio Ocampo says leftwing government will place tax reform burden on rich individuals and not companies

Gideon Long in Bogotá

Colombia’s new leftwing government will not raise taxes on companies but could cut the corporate tax rate by up to five percentage points if conditions allow, the country’s next finance minister said as he sought to calm the nerves of business leaders.

Speaking to the Financial Times, José Antonio Ocampo said companies were shouldering a heavy tax burden and that his tax reform plan, which he hopes to push through before the end of the year, will focus on extracting more tax from wealthy individuals rather than businesses.

“There are too many taxes on companies and not on individuals, and tackling the issue of personal income tax is essential if we want to make the system more progressive,” he said.