Editorial.
| Autor | Rodríguez, Víctor Mauricio Castañeda |
The last editorials of INNOVAR journal have had a particular characteristic that reacts to the situation in tax and fiscal matters of the period of publication of each issue. As I am writing these lines, I would like to comment on some measures established under the Financing Law and, more recently, the 2018-2022 National Development Plan, titled "Pact for Colombia, pact for equality", which put the adequate funding of the Social Security Health Care System (SSSS, in Spanish) and entities such as the National Learning Service (SENA) and the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF, in Spanish) at risk.
For example, although the simple tax regime created by the Financing Law has advantages and disadvantages to be weighed by each interested party to decide on their transfer, in the end this would imply a reduction in the resources to be transferred to the aforementioned entities, as the tax reform of 2018 provides that the taxpayers of said regime will be exempt from paying parafiscal payments and the contributions to the SSSS. therefore, if the amount collected for the Income Tax (ISR, in Spanish) under the ordinary regime is reduced, this would imply a lower amount of resources specifically intended for the entities mentioned in Article 243 of the Tax Statute, including SENA, ICFbf and public higher education institutions.
Although paragraph 2 of said article provides that the deficits among the budget approved for SENA and ICBF will be covered by the National Government in the event of a drop in the ISR resources with specific purpose, there are long-term risks to be considered. If the ISR collection drops permanently, the Government shall apply expenditure rationalization measures considering the tax revenues to meet the called "tax revenue target", ultimately affecting the budget of these public entities.
This scenario becomes more and more probable considering that, in addition to the simple regime, the Financing Law created different exemptions for sectors such as the "orange economy" and the agricultural sector, among others mentioned in the current version of Article 235-2 of the Tax Statute. Likewise, the National Development Plan continued with the same guidelines, so that, for example, we now have tax benefits for the companies located in the Special Economic and Social Area, which includes the departments of Guajira, Norte de Santander, and Arauca. The rate applicable to them will be 0% during the first five years of existence, and 50% of the general rate for the next five years.
These measures, which follow the scheme of the tax benefits scheme tested under the 2016 tax reform regarding new companies that begin operations in the areas most affected by the armed conflict (ZOMAC, in Spanish), imply that investors will make their investment decisions mainly based on tax-related arguments. However, specialized literature has demonstrated that, at best, taxes play a secondary role on investments, as other factors drive the risk and profitability of a business; for example, the legal...
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