Amid debate over a corporate wealth tax in Colombia, analysis shows only three OECD countries impose a general net personal wealth tax. Other European nations tax specific assets, while in the region, Argentina and Uruguay have similar levies. Experts warn such taxes are falling out of use and could harm competitiveness.
The proposal for a corporate wealth tax in Colombia, framed within the winter wave emergency, has sparked controversy among analysts and business groups. According to the Tax Foundation, in the OECD only Switzerland, Norway, and Spain retain a net personal wealth tax, while the levy on legal entities is increasingly uncommon.
In Europe, France abolished its net wealth tax in 2018 and replaced it with the Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière (IFI), focused on real estate. Countries like Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands apply taxes on specific assets, but not on individuals' total net wealth.
In Latin America, Argentina taxes individuals' net wealth through the personal assets tax, and Uruguay levies the Impuesto al Patrimonio (IP) on both individuals and companies for net wealth held in the country. Luxembourg imposes a Net Wealth Tax (NWT) on resident companies and branches based on net assets, regardless of profits.
César Tamayo, dean of the Economics Faculty at Universidad EAFIT, recalled that Colombia enacted a similar tax in 2002 during a macroeconomic crisis to fund security, but it was later dismantled. "Wealth taxes are in extinction; no more than five countries persist with this bad idea," Tamayo stated. The new decree sets a 0.5% rate, with 1.6% for mining-energy and financial sectors, which he says discourages innovation by taxing assets that create jobs and prosperity.
The National Business Council rejected using the winter emergency to issue decrees and stressed the need for constitutionality. The Association of Industrial Property Consultants (ACP) argued the levy threatens tax equity.
