Economy, Money, Banking & Taxes

Money

The country uses the Colombian Peso as currency and uses the international currency code COP. Although it has been sub dividable in the past down into 8 and 10 Reales as well as 100 Centavos, today it is not sub dividable into any other coinage. COL 1890 is equal to about $1 or £0.60.

Today, Coins are available in 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 Peso variants.

Bank Notes are available in 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000 and 50,000 variants.

Economy

Colombia’s economy today is worth around $365 Billion (£217 Billion) and sees around 4.3% GDP Growth Annually. The country’s main sectors are in Services (52.7%) Industry (38%) and Agriculture (9.3%), and employ around 92.2% of the population. Within these sectors, the biggest industries are in textiles, food processing, oil, clothing, footwear, beverages, chemicals, cement, gold, coal and emeralds. Colombia mainly trades with the US (39.4%), Spain (5.1%), China (4.9%) and the Netherlands (4.3%).

Banking

Banking in Colombia is very similar to countries in the west and in urban areas ATMs are widespread, but they may be less so in more rural areas. Bank Accounts come in two varieties; Current Accounts and Savings Accounts. Current Accounts allow one easy access to his or her bank account with minimal effort, but offer low interest rates, however, Savings Accounts are to the contrary and will offer higher interest rates but won’t necessarily allow the same ease of access that a Current Account would.

Taxes

National Taxes are applied to all Colombian Nationals and to all Foreign Nationals whom have lived in the country for over five years. Tax types include: Income Tax, Stamp Tax, Value Added Tax and Local Taxes.

Income Tax scales based on your income:

• Below $28,000 (£17,000) – 0%
• $28,000 to $44,000 (£26,000) – 19%
• $44,000 to $106,000 (£63,000) – 28%
• Over $106,000 – 33%

Stamp Tax is paid in varying amounts on all official documents such as contracts sent from one party to another. Value Added Tax (VAT) is paid at a rate of 16% on all goods and services with exceptions to public transportation, water supply and sanitation and the transportation of hydrocarbons and natural gas.

Local Taxes vary greatly based on the constituency and may include:

• Tax on Lottery Winnings (including out-of-state)
• Tax on Beer, Liquor or Cigarettes
• Tax on Gasoline or Automobiles
• Tax on Gasoline
• Tax on Slaughterhouses
• Tax to Register Academic Degrees, Patents and/or Names
• Tax on Advertising
• Tax on Real Estate and both Industrial and Commercial Establishments