00:00The debate surrounding the adjustment plan demands responsibility. The tax reform, known as the economic rescue law, was necessary, as was the
00:09The government of Abelardo de la Estrella took so long to publicly accept it.
00:13The campaign promises not to raise taxes, supported by various rhetorical mechanisms by the now Vice President José Manuel Restrepo,
00:23They were unsustainable given the scale of the fiscal crisis.
00:26That is why we celebrate the courage to present an unpopular bill that is being attacked from various quarters.
00:34fronts, even from within the ruling parties.
00:38Now, the Casa de Nariño must stop trying to disguise the fact that the bulk of the reform is based on increases to
00:46taxes and have the debate head-on, because fiscal responsibility demands additional transparency and it is no longer acceptable
00:54This could drag on.
00:56There was no way to close the country's huge fiscal gap without raising taxes and expanding
01:03the tax base. That's been known for some time.
01:08Within sectors of the Colombian right wing, there is a recurring myth that believes that by cutting state spending, one can achieve economic growth.
01:14The problem can be solved, but that shows a clear lack of understanding of the responsibilities that Colombia has already assumed.
01:21The principle of reality demonstrates that something like Javier Milley's chainsaw attack cannot happen in our country,
01:30unless the objective is to produce a catastrophe.
01:34So yes, austerity and the reduction of the state workforce is a measure that the Espriella government is implementing.
01:41It can be used, but if it is not accompanied by tools to increase revenue collection and to promote formalization of the
01:49In the economy, their promises of fiscal adjustment will fall short.
01:53That's the pill that many members of Congress from the ruling parties are now having to swallow.
02:02having campaigned with frankly populist speeches.
02:07Of course, it matters what is taxed, when, and how. The historic pact could come into play.
02:15Several of the taxes proposed by the Espriella administration are identical to those proposed by the previous administration.
02:22Gustavo Petro, as is the case with VAT on online betting.
02:27Will we then see the opposition voting in favor of the government now? In a devastatingly irresponsible move, that should happen.
02:36We also expect progressive support for the 19% VAT on spirits, taxes on cigarettes and vaping devices, and the tax on...
02:46carbon and extension to the surtax on the financial sector.
02:51Again, we need more taxes, and the opposition cannot oppose every proposal that comes from the House.
02:59from Nariño.
03:01Which is not to say that we cannot talk about how difficult the situation is for the class
03:06Colombian media, which was key in the election of de la Espriella and is the one that will suffer the most with the
03:13new taxes.
03:14We need to consider the taxes on products like fruits and vegetables. The question about the increases in... is also useful.
03:22the payments that will be made to social security, which goes directly against the policy of promoting
03:28employment.
03:29In a country where it's so easy to fall into precarious employment, is the government thinking with its own desires when it creates
03:38So many incentives for tax evasion?
03:40Congress has the power, but it needs to use it responsibly. The country must be able to debate its finances.
03:48without everything being caricatured to go viral on social media.
03:54We return to the idea of transparency. This applies to the government, which must abandon its rhetorical acrobatics, and to the opposition, which
04:03He needs to value what does align with his ideas, and for the pro-government congressmen, from whom we expect that
04:11They should put aside their electoral calculations.
04:14Is that too much to ask? If you disagree with this editorial, send your 500-word counter-editorial to elespectadoropinion.com
