Colombia Expat Forum

Bickerss
Joined 2013
Posts: 82

3 years ago

Here comes the tax grab...

3 years ago

URGENT LEGAL BULLETIN: LOCAL TAX AUTHORITY DEMANDING PAYMENT FROM EXPATS: The Colombian government, facing one of the most significant financial crises in over a century, appears to have directed the DIAN, the local tax authority, to secure as much tax revenue as possible as quickly as possible. This appears to include foreign residents as well as foreigners who have had financial dealings in Colombia.
WHAT WE ARE SEEING
We are been contacted by dozens of clients who have received official notices from the DIAN demanding that they file taxes for the 2018 tax year and/or pay specific tax obligations. Many of these notices have a specific deadline by which the DIAN expects compliance. However, it appears that many of the recipients either were not required to file taxes or do not actually owe any back taxes at all.
WHAT THIS MEANS
The DIAN issues these types of notices all the time. It typically sends official notices if their internal systems alert them that a person is required to file taxes and/or owes tax payments. As best as we can tell, it appears that the DIAN is sending these letters to anyone and everyone that “might” have an obligation in an effort to capture as much revenue as possible.
OPTIONS/RECOMMENDATIONS
We want to emphasize that if you received a letter from the DIAN as described above you should take this issue seriously. At the very least, we recommend that you confer with a competent local accountant before you make any decisions. This can include someone like Paula Cruz who many expats use but there are definitely others. If you know a solid accountant feel free to recommend them in the comments below this post for the benefit of the entire community.
Regardless, we wanted to share some options available to you so that you can discuss with your accountant when ready:
1. Pay It: Assuming you are comfortable with the amount at issue, paying may be the safest option for you. However, please coordinate with a competent accountant so that the matter is settled completely (you don’t want them to come back and request more payments from you for other obligations).
2. Fight It: Assuming the DIAN is fishing for a payment you do not owe this process could be as simple as making the case informally at one of their offices once they reopen. Or not. If the DIAN refuses to see reason you may be in for a fight.
3. Ignore It: On the one hand, assuming you don’t have any assets in Colombia, don’t expect to be a resident of Colombia and are comfortable that eventually you may not even be able to come back to Colombia the consequences may be manageable. However, we DO NOT recommend this option since, depending on the amount involved, it’s possible that any default judgment against you could follow you for a very long time, even if you live outside of Colombia.

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Help others in Colombia by answering questions about the challenges and adventures of living in Colombia.