The Ministry of Finance published for comments the project that seeks to modify the self -retention of the source of various economic activities of the country. Given this, Analdex sent a letter to the economic portfolio, letting him know that with the increase of 1% to 2.5% in gold, tax revenues would fall from US $ 225 million to US $ 50 million, which represents a loss of US $ 175 million.
In the statement they pointed out that this would bring a drastic reduction in the volume of gold marketed. “With this new structure, with an effective rate of 11%, smuggling will divert at least 55% of the production of the good.”
Well They warned that International regulations establish that the effective rate should not exceed 5%while the limit of fiscal burden is equally 5%.
With this modification, the tax burden would increase to 7%, since the self -retention for the gold extraction activity would be 4.5%. Therefore, he insisted that this increase represents a discouragement for marketing, so they ensure that 40 tons that are currently marketed, at least 90% would be diverted to informality.
“This would represent a significant setback in national and international efforts for mining formalization and the implementation of due diligence standards”read in the letter.
For his part, the spokesman for the main international marketers of the country and former minister of mines and energy, César Díaz Guerrero, said that They reject the “unjustified and disproportion. They added that the viability of an activity that allows, through transparent processes, “generate currencies and facilitate the export of the mineral” which is produced by small miners, as well as by medium and large companies.
“International marketers that have been a great ally of the National Government in formalization processes are affected and in the search for better conditions for small miners (…) Measures such as this further promote the high informality that exists in the sector, ”said Díaz.
Gold exports in 2024
According to figures from the National Mining Agency, in 2024, The country reached exports for US $ 3,907 million, equivalent to 67 tons.
The ‘x -ray’ of the gold market in Colombia gives an increase in the exported value since 2020. In this year, auriferous exports totaled US $ 2.7 billion and the 2024 figure is the highest of the last five years. Last year, the largest Colombian exports receptors were the US (US $ 1,434 million), followed by India (US $ 580.9 million) and Italy (US $ 477 million).
According to more recent Trade Map calculations, collected by Analdex, Switzerland is the largest exporter in the world, since in 2023 gold exported for a value of US $ 517,986 million, followed by the United Kingdom with US $ 107,249 million. The first Latin American gold exporter is Peru with US $ 8,373 million in 2023.
Other impacted activities
The representative to the Chamber, Oscar Darío Pérez, said that although the measure is in “detriment” of the commercialization of gold, this would not be the only good that would be “affected.” “This decree updates the one that exists and makes it more burdensome, increasing the rates in multiple activities, and establishes who are the self -realities and what are the amounts in which you do not have to make retention,” he said. But he also said that commercial, energy and agro activities would be impacted. Then, he concluded that the greatest levies foster informality and the decrease in collection in items such as royalties.
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