The president of Colombia, Ivan Duque, proposed on Wednesday 29 August the elimination of the payment of taxes, for the time of 5 years, to all startups related to Cryptocurrencies and blockchain or technology cryptocoin. The president of Colombia explained that the aim of the initiative is that the new companies generate more jobs and at the same time generate more investment.
President Duque made this announcement during his presentation at the International Congress on Information and Communication technologies, Andicom 2018, which was held in the city of Cartagena and where strategies were discussed to improve the transformation Digital in blockchain and cryptocoin of Colombia. Other technology companies that would also benefit are those devoted to artificial intelligence, big data, cybersecurity, cloud computing, chatbot and machine learning.
Colombian president Ivan Duque wants to improve the conditions for the Colombian digital economy to develop in the areas, especially those related to the cryptocoin. The reason is that dozens of ventures would be in a position to receive this benefit from the national Government so that their projects can be realized without the usual tax obstacles. The first President asserted the following:
We want to make companies so that Colombia is a great player in the sector, but often the tax policy of the country has been designed to make the employer this kind of approximations a race of obstacles. So in the economic revival that we are proposing, and I have been saying a long time ago, I want to take forward the exemption of the income tax for 5 years to all companies that are constituted for these sectors and generate a minimum of jobs in the country So that we generate is the investment capacity that is needed.
Ivan Duke President of Colombia
Another of the announcements of Duque, which could propel the undertakings of cryptocurrencies and technology of blockchain, is the hiring of a high adviser for the transformation and the Digital society specialized in new technologies. In this way, this high-level counselor will aim to define strategies, in conjunction with cabinet ministers, to create policies to encourage the growth of cryptocurrency and blockchain enterprises.
#Cartagena I Para construir una Colombia moderna he designado en la Presidencia de la República un Alto Consejero para la transformación y la sociedad digital que trabajará en diseñar políticas a corto, mediano y largo plazo. #Andicom2018 #ElFuturoEsDeTodos pic.twitter.com/pC3ZKJBmSf
— Iván Duque (@IvanDuque) 29 de agosto de 2018
The month of February the general manager of the Bank of the Republic of Colombia, Juan José Echavarría, announced that the bitcoins are not legal in the Colombian financial market, but although the bitcoin is not legal its owners must pay taxes. Another setback for the ecosystem in Colombia occurred in early August when the Cryptocurrency Buddha Exchange House announced the closure of operations alleging “operational drawbacks arising from the closure of all of their bank accounts.”
Despite these bad actions by Colombian officials, Colombian President Ivan Duque emphasizes that he will maintain his promise at the beginning of his election campaign, which is to continue working to promote the use of Cryptocurrencies technology to improve the transparency of the Government of Colombia.