Colombia is weighing a tax regime aimed at wealthy newcomers as part of broader economic recovery efforts. Lawmakers see it as a way to draw capital, create jobs, and revive investment in a slowing economy.
Italy charges a flat annual fee of €300,000 and exempts foreign-source income for up to 15 years. Spain taxes local earnings at 24% with a ceiling of €600,000 while shielding foreign income for six years. Portugal enrolled more than 10,000 beneficiaries in its NHR regime before replacing it with IFICI. Greece offers a €100,000 annual flat tax for 15 years. Dubai levies no personal income tax. The United Kingdom replaced its non-dom status with a four-year FIG scheme that shields foreign earnings from tax.
Colombia currently has nothing comparable. The gap puts the country at a disadvantage when competing for mobile international capital.
The Proposal Takes Shape
Under the framework being discussed, a natural person—foreign or Colombian—who has not been a tax resident in the past five years could qualify by investing at least $1 million in eligible Colombian assets and keeping those assets in the country for ten years.
Qualified investments would include real estate, shares in Colombian companies, public debt, private equity funds, or designated business projects. The investor would receive a 0% rate on foreign-source income including dividends, interest, royalties, and capital gains. Offshore assets would also be excluded from the wealth tax. Income from the qualifying investment itself could face a 15% rate during the first five years, while labor earnings would remain under standard rules.
The proposal draws on existing provisions in the Tax Statute. Article 10 defines tax residency; Article 9 governs differential treatment between residents and non-residents; Article 292-3 covers the wealth tax. A new regime could be added through a fresh Article 10-1 creating the “New Investor Resident” category, a modification to Article 9 for substitute rates, and a new Article 245-1 to govern the details. Anti-abuse provisions would rely on the general clause in Article 869.
Critics will likely argue that such a regime benefits the wealthy. That critique misses how capital actually moves. If an investor chooses another jurisdiction for residence and wealth, Colombia collects nothing. It also loses the spending, employment, suppliers, and reinvestment that follow that capital.
The timing coincides with debate over the Economic Rescue Law, which some see as a fitting vehicle for such a provision. The political window remains open, supporters say.
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