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dc.titleTaxation and Economic Growth in Colombia
dc.contributor.authorSteiner, Roberto
dc.contributor.orgunitFiscal and Municipal Management Division
dc.coverageColombia
dc.date.available2014-03-12T00:00:00
dc.date.issue2014-03-12T00:00:00
dc.description.abstractThis Working Paper assesses the impact on investment of a reduction in corporate taxes and the impact on employment, labor formality, and growth of a reduction in non-wage labor costs in Colombia. First, and following Hall and Jorgensen (1967), we estimate an investment function, which depends on the user cost of capital, one of whose determinants is the corporate tax rate. Our estimations suggest that a reduction of the corporate tax rate from 33 to 23 percent--as originally envisioned by the government in early 2012, but finally not included in the reform submitted to Congress--has very different short and long-term effects on investment in machinery and equipment. While the user cost of capital declines 0.9 percent, investment (excluding the oil and mining sector) increases on impact only 28 bps in relation to GDP, an increase that does not compensate the fiscal cost incurred. In the long term, however, it is likely that the significant boost in investment (of around 5 percent of GDP) makes such a policy intervention fiscally sustainable. Second, using a computable general equilibrium model calibrated for Colombia, we estimate that the reduction of the "pure tax" component of non-wage labor costs approved in late 2012 is associated with a 0.5 percent increase in overall employment and, more importantly, with a 1.4 percent increase in formal sector employment. Our estimations indicate that this is achieved at no fiscal cost since government revenue increases as a result of higher output and employment.
dc.format.extent48
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0011622
dc.identifier.urlhttps://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/Taxation-and-Economic-Growth-in-Colombia.pdf
dc.language.isoen
dc.mediumAdobe PDF
dc.publisherInter-American Development Bank
dc.subjectFiscal Management
dc.subjectTaxation
dc.subject.jelcodeD58 - Computable and Other Applied General Equilibrium Models
dc.subject.jelcodeE2 - Consumption, Saving, Production, Investment, Labor Markets, and Informal Economy
dc.subject.jelcodeH30 - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents: General
dc.subject.jelcodeJ32 - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits • Retirement Plans • Private Pensions
dc.subject.jelcodeO5 - Economywide Country Studies
dc.subject.keywordsComputable general equilibrium models, Investment, User cost of capital, Corporate taxation, Non-wage labor costs
dc.typeWorking Papers
idb.identifier.pubnumberWorking Papers
idb.operationRG-T1920
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