Colombia Fights Poverty With A Wealth Tax

In August 2022, Gustavo Petro became Colombian president. “Pacto Histórico” made Gustavo Petro the first Latin American country to have a left-wing president. Petro triumphed with 50.47% of the vote versus the right-wing millionaire Rodolfo Hernández with 47.27%. Compared to the previous election, this one had more voter participation.

Petro united many voters as a presidential candidate. He and his vice president, Francia Márquez, desire economic, social and environmental change in Colombia. One step could be Petro’s concept of taxing oil exports and wealth.

Increased Taxes For Top Incomes, Rich People, Real Estate, Oil Exports

The president wishes for the country’s highest earners, nearly 2% of the population, to pay more taxes. Suppose Petro has his way. In that case, the tax gains should rise slowly. His draft law also supplies an expansion in taxes on dividends. The maximum tax rate is to quadruple to 39%. He also wishes to combat tax evasion.

The government must impose a yearly tax on assets and real estate in expansion. A tax rate of 0.5% is to be charged on assets over $600,000, increasing to 1% on assets over $1.1M. And a 10% tax is to be imposed on some of Colombia’s most important export goods, oil, coal, and gold, as soon as prices surpass a specific threshold.

One of Petro’s key campaign pledges was the wealth tax. It is also an element of discussion at a time of enriching global inequality in many countries.