The Colombian government issued several decrees under the Economic, Social and Ecological Emergency declared due to floods in eight departments, including a 16% tax on digital bets and an $8.6 trillion addition to the 2026 budget. These measures aim to fund aid for victims and revive the local economy. Critics like Andi and AmCham question their impact on investment.
On March 12, 2026, the Colombian government, under President Gustavo Petro, issued decrees to tackle the emergency from heavy rains affecting Córdoba, Antioquia, La Guajira, Sucre, Bolívar, Cesar, Magdalena, and Chocó, declared on February 11 via Decree 0150.
Decree 0240 introduces tax measures: a 16% consumption tax on chance and gambling games operated exclusively online, calculated on gross revenues minus prizes; a temporary 19% tax normalization for omitted assets or nonexistent liabilities as of April 1, 2026; adjustments to the wealth tax including branches of foreign companies, payable in two installments in April and June; and transitory reductions in sanctions and interest for debts as of December 31, 2025, with 4.5% rates and only 15% sanctions if paid by April 30. DIAN gains powers for conciliations with up to 85% discounts.
Decree 0241 adds $8.6 trillion to the 2026 General National Budget, funded by these measures. Resources are allocated as follows: $1.6 trillion for Agriculture in land access and agribusiness recovery; $1 trillion for Education in school infrastructure; $1.3 trillion for Housing in resettlements and sanitation; $1.1 trillion for UNGRD in recovery; $626.220 million for Transport in roads and bridges; and $455.271 million for Health in trauma care and mental health.
Other decrees include 0242, suspending gas billing for affected users until service restoration and offering 12-month payment facilities for strata 1 and 2; 0243, granting governors and mayors powers to reorient budgets, defer taxes, and contract treasury credits up to 15% of revenues; 0244, providing up to 90% credit guarantees for the popular economy via FNG and FAG, subsidized by the state; and 0245, authorizing monetary transfers, food aid, and seed capital for victims by Prosperidad Social.
The Autonomous Fiscal Rule Committee (CARF) deemed the fiscal scenario 'unlikely' due to unclear spending cuts, estimating a $32.1 trillion shortfall. Petro replied it would be achieved with $16 trillion from taxing the rich and debt cost reduction. Bruce Mac Master, Andi president, criticized the package as an 'affront to democracy' harming investment, urging Constitutional Court suspension. María Claudia Lacouture of AmCham saw it as a 'shortcut' reviving struck-down measures.
