2/3rd of Colombia’s elite in Panama Papers guilty of tax evasion: Minister
written by Adriaan Alsema May 17, 2016
Two thirds of the 1,245 Colombians that appeared in The Panama Papers have evaded taxes by not reporting their foreign assets with Colombia’s tax agency, the finance minister and tax chief said Tuesday.
Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas and the director of tax agency DIAN, Santiago Rojas, held a press conference on the preliminary investigation of possible tax invasion by those who funneled money abroad through Panamanian tax firm Mossack & Fonseca, whose administration was leaked.
This means that more than 800 people, the bulk belonging to Colombia’s business and political elite, could expect to be investigated for tax evasion either by the prosecution or the tax office.
According to Colombia’s former tax chief, Colombians have funneled more than $100 billion, more than a quarter of the country’s entire GDP, to tax havens.
The evasion of taxes on this money has become one of the main challenges for the DIAN and the government, which has been criticized for its inability to adequately raise taxes to fund government expenses.
The low tax revenue has become an imminent problem for Cardenas as dropping oil prices have cut revenue from the country’s oil exports in half, leaving a major deficit in the country’s 2016 budget.
According to the director of the DIAN, some 50 officials have been investigating the persons and firms mentioned in the Panama Papers and already have the warrants for an extensive tax audit of 60 people appearing on the leaked list.
Rojas said that criminal charges will be filed in cases where fraud is established, and warned that those who effectively have evaded taxes will be fined by the tax office itself.
http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/content/23rd-colombia%E2%80%99s-elite-panama-papers-guilty-tax-evasion-minister?utm_source=World+Affairs+Newsletter&utm_campaign=503a969cda-May_17_2016_WNN5_17_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f83b38c5c7-503a969cda-294672653
written by Adriaan Alsema May 17, 2016
Two thirds of the 1,245 Colombians that appeared in The Panama Papers have evaded taxes by not reporting their foreign assets with Colombia’s tax agency, the finance minister and tax chief said Tuesday.
Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas and the director of tax agency DIAN, Santiago Rojas, held a press conference on the preliminary investigation of possible tax invasion by those who funneled money abroad through Panamanian tax firm Mossack & Fonseca, whose administration was leaked.
“The first thing that needs to be said is that… the percentage of people and firms that effectively have declared their investments in that country and reported them before the DIAN is extremely low.”
Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas
“Of all the people who were listed, only 35% have reported these investments. In other words, 65% has evaded his obligation.”
Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas
This means that more than 800 people, the bulk belonging to Colombia’s business and political elite, could expect to be investigated for tax evasion either by the prosecution or the tax office.
According to Colombia’s former tax chief, Colombians have funneled more than $100 billion, more than a quarter of the country’s entire GDP, to tax havens.
The evasion of taxes on this money has become one of the main challenges for the DIAN and the government, which has been criticized for its inability to adequately raise taxes to fund government expenses.
The low tax revenue has become an imminent problem for Cardenas as dropping oil prices have cut revenue from the country’s oil exports in half, leaving a major deficit in the country’s 2016 budget.
According to the director of the DIAN, some 50 officials have been investigating the persons and firms mentioned in the Panama Papers and already have the warrants for an extensive tax audit of 60 people appearing on the leaked list.
Rojas said that criminal charges will be filed in cases where fraud is established, and warned that those who effectively have evaded taxes will be fined by the tax office itself.
http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/content/23rd-colombia%E2%80%99s-elite-panama-papers-guilty-tax-evasion-minister?utm_source=World+Affairs+Newsletter&utm_campaign=503a969cda-May_17_2016_WNN5_17_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f83b38c5c7-503a969cda-294672653
» Foreign Affairs: Disagreements over many issues with Türkiye, especially water
» An economic expert proposes a "magic solution" to avoid the crisis of the high price of the dollar
» Famous Bank: The Middle East is going through a golden age
» Kurdistan's violations... began with corruption deals. Will they end with obedience and loyalty to I
» In the document, the Central Bank gives exchange companies 6 months to implement this order
» Rusafa Municipality: A move to automate real estate transactions and building permits
» Baghdad and Moscow concluded a memorandum of understanding in the field of combating corruption
» Transportation forms a committee to analyze immobile bank accounts in the ministry
» Decisions of the 29th session of the Ministerial Council for the Economy
» Compulsory conscription will be absent for a long time this time.. The idea of a “security contrac
» The Ministerial Council for the Economy takes a package of decisions regarding mills... and raising
» An Iraqi company unveils a fertilizer that increases crop productivity by 40%
» American Foreign Policy: Washington must set red lines for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
» A new law changes Iraq's strategy to combat drugs
» Parliamentary Finance announces its agreement with the Minister of Planning to resolve the issues of
» Parliament adjourns its session until next Wednesday
» Advisor Mazhar Saleh: Sovereign guarantees encourage the business environment in Iraq
» Exchange companies under categories (A, B)
» After months of suspension and years of disputes.. What is the Iraqi-Turkish oil line?
» The Central Bank denies the scarcity of cash liquidity and describes its currency and gold reserves
» An economic expert details the cash conversion cycle of the Iraqi dinar
» 98% of the factories of the largest industrial city in eastern Iraq have stopped
» After procrastination and procrastination.. What are the implications of Turkish approval to resume
» Concerning Khor Abdullah... collecting parliamentary signatures demanding that the government take t
» The Judicial Council reveals the preparation of a law for general amnesty for women and juveniles
» Al-Araji: Iraq is continuing to implement the provisions of the joint security agreement with Iran
» The President of the Republic receives the credentials of the ambassadors of four Arab and foreign c
» Deputy: 11 countries want to invest in the path of development...the number will reach 50 soon
» Transport announces the start of the second phase of operating the Grand Welcome Square
» “Secretly”.. Revealing the agendas of Masrour Barzani’s visit to Israel
» Al-Halbousi summons a thousand soldiers to protect his homes in Anbar
» Al-Iqtisad News publishes the recommendations of the World Investor Day Conference
» Commerce sets the date for starting the first step of electronic transformation
» The Minister of Agriculture directs the release of funds for compensation for the loss of land
» Labor announces the suspension of restrictions on 448 beneficiaries of the full-time employee’s sala
» The Iraq Stock Exchange announces trading indicators for shares of joint stock companies for the mon
» Baghdad and Moscow are discussing developing relations in the oil and energy sector
» Deputy: The conservatives neglected the civil defense file because it does not provide media gains
» For three reasons: the Sudanese government is “waiting” to open hot corruption files in an Iraqi gov
» Tehran responds to Baghdad's move and sends a team to Iraq to closely follow the "security agreement
» Parliamentary Finance points out the provinces' problems as a result of not releasing budget funding
» A slight increase in the exchange rates of the dollar in the local markets
» Iran is ready to send manpower to Iraq at all job levels
» President Barzani and Muhammad Haj Mahmoud discuss developments in Iraq and Kurdistan and relations
» The coordination framework rejects the statements of one of the representatives regarding Al-Abadi
» Minister of Justice, Dr. Khaled Shawani, refers a draft of draft instructions for employing inmates
» Zain Iraq launches “SuperCard” cards with new options that keep pace with the diverse needs of subsc
» A clear decline in the work of Parliament as a result of most forces being preoccupied with the elec
» Huge financial losses incurred by the local economy despite government decisions
» The President of the Republic to the ambassadors of four countries: Coordination is important to est
» The House of Representatives holds a new session
» Iran: Part of the security agreement with Iraq has not yet been implemented, and we are preparing a
» The economic paper is at the top.. Türkiye is putting pressure and Iraq is facing options to overcom
» Security expert: Preserving sovereignty depends on the diplomatic aspect
» Parliamentary Committee: The government seeks to get rid of Turkish pressure and drain the region’s
» The US army intensifies its activities by exporting stolen Syrian oil to northern Iraq
» Honest: There is no agreement to pass the general amnesty law
» A parliamentarian obtains the approval of the Minister of Labor to include diabetic patients in soci
» Parliamentary Finance hosts the Minister of Planning regarding the delay in financing projects
» Sudanese requires attention to the requirements of the development path in any agreement to operate
» A political analyst was imprisoned and fined on a lawsuit by Al-Sudani
» Foreign remittances increased by 92% in the Iraqi currency auction
» OPEC Secretary General: The organization is optimistic about the demand for oil
» Al-Sudani chairs the meeting of the Supreme Committee for Implementing the Development Road Project
» Turkish Minister of Energy: This week, we will start operating the oil pipeline between Iraq and Tur
» The Minister of Health announces the achievement of a financial saving estimated at $40 million from
» Securities: There is a foreign investment portfolio within the market amounting to $250 million
» The central bank sells more than $192.6 million in the currency auction
» Strong purchases push Bitcoin to its highest level in more than a month... gains exceeding 4%
» Iraq agrees to open 4 Jordanian banks and conduct business in Baghdad
» Soon.. completion of the rehabilitation of the celebrations square
» Increasing rates of work on the land pilgrimage route
» Parliamentary Planning completes an evaluation of the work of six ministries
» The country's markets are suffering from a scarcity of cash liquidity
» The four presidencies renew their rejection of any aggression targeting the country's territory
» Securities offer guarantees to attract capital
» Incidents that threaten the credibility of the “infrastructure government”.. Demonstrations demandin
» Headed by a senior official...an Iraqi delegation delivers to Tehran a joint report on “opposition p
» The results of "Al-Haitham" convince Parliament... Three advantages of the investigation into the "H
» Sudanese directs to reduce the protection of officials and prevent open protection movement (documen
» Türkiye announces the resumption of oil pumping from Iraqi Kurdistan this week
» Setback and death... Iraqi ports are closed to "red vegetables" and farmers destroy them to protest
» The average price of Iraqi oil exported to Jordan is less than $14 per barrel
» Iraq condemns the suicide attack in Türkiye: We support efforts to confront terrorism
» Resources announces the construction of 36 dams to harvest water during the next year
» Basra Gas exports 25 thousand tons of condensates
» Parliamentary Finance hosts the Minister of Planning regarding the delay in financing ongoing projec
» Integrity arrests an accused red-handed in receiving sums of money in exchange for a promise to appo
» Turkish Minister of Energy: This week, we will start operating the oil pipeline between Iraq and Tur
» Iraq: The factions return cautiously to Anbar after the decline in American activity
» “Political investment” in Iraq falls on the line of the Hamdaniyah tragedy
» Türkiye: Destroying PKK targets in Iraq
» Parliamentary mobilization to overthrow the central bank governor: failure and unfulfilled promises
» Iraq reaches settlement of its debts owed to Iran
» Iran demands “full” implementation of the security agreement with Iraq
» Iraq is betting on the development road project to strengthen its relations with Türkiye
» Iraq's oil exports reached 3.4 million barrels per day in September
» Al-Sudani chairs the meeting of the Supreme Committee for Implementing the Development Road Project