After several years of working on its approval and regulation, the government of President Gustavo Petro arrived determined to begin collect the valuation tax to the property owners who have benefited from the infrastructure works that have been built in the country.
Although last week the Minister of Transportation, Guillermo Reyes, assured in an interview with EL TIEMPO that this payment would only be made until 2024, in the last few hours he announced that It will begin to be carried out from this year.
(Also read: Concessions that raised tolls should lower them: there will be no refund)
He said that it will be charged for ongoing, completed and new road projects, but do not use for families from disadvantaged classes or who have small plots. «Valuation will be paid taking into account the size of the property and how it has benefited from the work,» added the official.
But the most striking thing about this recovery charge is the figure that is expected to be collected. On Monday the minister spoke of raising up to 25 billion pesos and on Tuesday in an interview broadcast by ELTIEMPO.COM he said that it could be obtained between 18 and 20 billion pesostaking into account 28 projects awarded from ANI.
Valuation will be paid taking into account the size of the property and how it has benefited from the work
This means that owners of land near the tracks will have to pay in the coming months. a figure close to that of the tax reform that was presented last year and through which it is expected to raise, only in 2023, around 20 billion pesos.
The president of the Society of Farmers of Colombia (SAC), Jorge Bedoya, affirmed that this measure is «logic and correctness»but the ability to pay resulted from the owner’s cash flow, «but it could probably affect small producers more.»
He also said that it is necessary to know the areas in which it would be charged and other key aspects, to assess the impacts of this tax. The ANI will ensure that these details will be known later.
If the Government manages to obtain these billion-dollar resources, according to Minister Guillermo Reyes, they will be used to finance road works, eliminate tolls and compensating the money that is not received this year due to the freezing of toll rates that are in charge of Invías (30) and ANI (113), a measure that began to apply this Monday.
(Also read: It’s official: Mintransporte suspended the collection of the El Bordo toll on the Pan-American highway)
According to the Ministry of Transport, due to this stability in the trips to the booths that are in charge of the Invías dabout 60,000 million pesos would stop enteringwhile those of the ANI, 500,000 million pesos.
So that the valuation tax can begin to be collected –que will be in charge of Invías– The government of former President Iván Duque issued a decree that regulates it on July 21, 2022. There it is indicated that this payment can be made in money or in kind.
If it is in money, may defer up to a period of 20 years and in periodic installments, but the owner of the property will have to assume financing interest. While the payment in kind will be through real estate that the National Government considers of interest.
Another issue that is still pending so that collections can begin is related to the financial analysiswhich are a position of the ANI and the ministries of Finance and Transportation.
