Fiscal Policy in Colombia : Tapping Its Potential for a More Equitable Society

Colombia has the seventh highest Gini coefficient of income inequality in the world. The Santos Administration is aware of this challenge and has taken important steps to reduce disparities. The Government is also aspiring to join the OECD, which e...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Moller, Lars Christian
Format:	Report
Language:	English en_US
Published:	World Bank, Washington, DC 2017
Subjects:	ACCOUNTING AGRICULTURE BANK POLICY BENEFICIARIES BENEFIT INCIDENCE CASH TRANSFER CASH TRANSFERS CENTRAL GOVERNMENT CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SPENDING COEFFICIENTS COMMODITIES CONSTITUTIONAL COURT CONSUMERS COST EFFECTIVENESS DEBT DERIVATIVE DERIVATIVES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DISPOSABLE INCOME DISTRIBUTION OF INCOME ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EFFICIENCY IMPACT EMERGING MARKET EMERGING MARKET ECONOMIES ESTIMATED TAX FINANCIAL SERVICES FINANCIAL TRANSACTION FISCAL BALANCE FISCAL DEFICIT FISCAL DISCIPLINE FISCAL IMPACT FISCAL NEUTRALITY FISCAL POLICY FISCAL SAVINGS FISCAL SPACE FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY FOOD PRICES FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT GDP GINI COEFFICIENT GLOBAL STANDARDS GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION GROWTH RATES HOLDING HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD INCOMES HUMAN DEVELOPMENT IMPLICIT SUBSIDY INCOME GROUP INCOME INEQUALITY INCOME LEVELS INCOME SUBSIDY INCOME TAX EXEMPTION INCOME TAX REFORM INDIRECT SUBSIDY INDIRECT TAXATION INFLATION INSURANCE INTEREST INCOME INTEREST PAYMENTS INVENTORY LABOR MARKET LEGAL CONSTRAINTS LEVY LIVING STANDARDS MARKET TRANSACTIONS MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRY MINISTRY OF FINANCE MONETARY FUND MORTGAGE MORTGAGE INTEREST NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT NATURAL RESOURCE NET BENEFITS NET REVENUE NUMERICAL VALUE OPTIMAL TAXATION PAYROLL TAX PAYROLL TAXES PENSION PENSION CONTRIBUTIONS PENSION REFORM PENSION SYSTEM PENSIONS PERSONAL INCOME PERSONAL INCOME TAX PERSONAL INCOME TAXES POLICY ALTERNATIVES POLICY INSTRUMENT POLICY MAKERS POLICY OBJECTIVES POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS POLICY REFORM POLICY REFORMS POLITICAL ECONOMY POWER PARITY PROGRESSIVE TAX PROGRESSIVE TAXATION PROTECTIONISM PUBLIC CREDIT PUBLIC OUTLAYS PUBLIC PENSION PUBLIC POLICY PUBLIC SPENDING PURCHASING POWER REAL ESTATE REDISTRIBUTION REDISTRIBUTIVE EFFECTS REDISTRIBUTIVE IMPACT REDISTRIBUTIVE POLICIES REGRESSIVE TAX REMOTE AREAS REPLACEMENT RATES RETURNS REVENUE GAINS REVENUE MOBILIZATION REVENUE SOURCE SAVINGS ACCOUNT SAVINGS ACCOUNTS SECTORAL COMPOSITION SOCIAL PROTECTION SPECIAL SAVINGS SUBNATIONAL SUBNATIONAL ENTITIES TAX TAX AUTHORITY TAX BASE TAX BREAKS TAX BURDEN TAX CONTRIBUTIONS TAX EXEMPTION TAX EXEMPTIONS TAX EXPENDITURE TAX EXPENDITURES TAX INCENTIVES TAX PAYERS TAX PAYMENTS TAX POLICY TAX RATE TAX REFORM TAX REFORMS TAX REVENUE TAX REVENUES TAX SIDE TAX SYSTEM TAX SYSTEMS TAX TREATMENT TAXABLE INCOME TAXATION TAXATION POLICY TOTAL EMPLOYMENT TRANSACTION TREASURY UNEMPLOYMENT VALUE ADDED VALUE ADDED TAX VALUE ADDED TAXES WEALTH WEALTH TAX WEALTH TAXES
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/848871468261324316/Fiscal-policy-in-Colombia-tapping-its-potential-for-a-more-equitable-society http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26883

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Summary:	Colombia has the seventh highest Gini coefficient of income inequality in the world. The Santos Administration is aware of this challenge and has taken important steps to reduce disparities. The Government is also aspiring to join the OECD, which exhibits much lower income disparities, mainly as a result of effective policies of fiscal redistribution. In Colombia, meanwhile, direct taxes, indirect taxes, and monetary transfers hardly dent the high Gini coefficient. To reduce income inequality, Colombian policy makers could consider introducing a more progressive tax-transfer system. This paper ranks alternative inequality-reducing fiscal policy options based on their effectiveness. It argues that there are potentially important redistributive potential gains available from tax reforms if combined with good spending decisions. It presents an illustrative reform package that would be sufficient for Colombia to reach levels of inequality similar to Chile or Costa Rica in a fiscally neutral manner. Nonetheless, further analysis is needed to explore all available policy options and identify those that are best suited for Colombia.

Fiscal Policy in Colombia : Tapping Its Potential for a More Equitable Society

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