The Taxation of Income from Business and Capital in Colombia

Over the years Colombian tax officials have received the benefit of first-class advice of leading foreign scholars. In return, these scholarsand indeed everyone concerned with development policyhave gained a great deal both from the unusual willingness of Colombians to consider new ideas in detail and then, after full public discussion, drawing on the work of these experts to design a made-in-Colombia solution. [The books] most important contribution, however, is undoubtedly with respect to consumption taxes. No one, anywhere, has thought through with such care just how the so-called simplified alternative tax (essentially a direct personal consumption tax combined with a cash-flow corporate tax) might work in the real world. Since such taxes are increasingly being consideredif not adoptedall over the world, in developing and developed countries alike, for this reason alone this book should be high on the reading list of all those concerned with the design and implementation of efficient and equitable direct tax systems.From the Foreword by Richard M. Bird