LatinNews Daily - 04 November 2022

* Colombia’s congress voted on 3 November to approve the flagship tax reform bill submitted by President Gustavo Petro’s government in August, although reconciliation between both chambers will be required before the bill passes to Petro for promulgation. A modified version of the bill was approved by the lower chamber with 125 votes in favour and 20 against, with a separate version having been cleared by the senate on 2 November. The reconciliation process is due to begin on 8 November. While the broad strokes of the bill are in line with the government’s original reform proposal, it falls short of the Col$25trn (US$4.92bn) that Petro had initially sought to raise with the reform. It now looks set to rake in an additional Col$20trn for the treasury each year, through a mixture of tax hikes on the wealthy, hydrocarbons, and products that are harmful to human health or to the environment. Finance Minister José Antonio Ocampo said that the final approval of the reform bill will mean that “firstly, [we have] a solid fiscal policy, and secondly, we will have additional resources to drive change and total peace.”

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