The director of the National Tax and Customs Directorate of Colombia (DIAN), Luis Carlos Reyes, said that a CBDC for the Colombian peso will facilitate transactions for citizens and strengthen their fight against tax evasion.
Reyes explained that a central bank digital currency, or CBDC, will help the country monitor citizens' financial movements.
Although the director of the DIAN, the tax and customs department of the Latin American country, pointed out that a CBDC for the Colombian peso will allow citizens to carry out transactions more easily and quickly, he also indicated that the digital currency will allow the government to reinforce the measures established to stop tax evasion.
The Latin American country is designing a new monetary policy, Reyes explained in a interview granted to the newspaper WeekIn this, he also pointed out that the creation of a CBDC for the Colombian peso fits with his plan to avoid “under the table” money movements; an expression used to refer to when something is done illegally or secretly.
It may interest you: Colombia presents a new guide for blockchain adoption
Colombia is one of the Latin American countries that has most committed to the adoption of emerging technologies, making significant progress in the digital industry. For years, this nation has been exploring the potential of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain, integrating these technologies into government management, the banking system and land registration.
Now, the country is exploring a new use case for these new technologies, which, thanks to their transparency and immutability, could significantly contribute to its tax reform objectives by reducing tax evasion.
The benefits of a CBDC in Colombia, according to the director of the DIAN
In addition to facilitating transactions for citizens, Reyes also noted that the issuance of a CBDC digital currency “It would radically change the way money moves in the country”. In his opinion, a digital Colombian peso will improve the traceability of payments that are carried out within the Colombian economy. It will also help the country to reduce the issuance and limit the use of cash.
Likewise, a CBDC of the Colombian peso will allow carrying a detailed record of sales transactions that are carried out in the country after a certain threshold. This is thanks to the unique process that allows the blockchain to track assets that move within its network and to keep an immutable record of all transactions carried out.
In this regard, Reyes indicated that one of the important objectives that the Colombian government has set is that when payments are made that exceed a certain amount, “are recorded in an electronic medium”, to prevent people who carry out such transactions from evading tax payments. As with the land registry, Colombia says it seeks to ensure that the processes are carried out in the most transparent way possible, to fight corruption through the potential offered by blockchain technology.
In early July, Colombia’s Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MinTIC) published new guidelines for the implementation of blockchain at the institutional level.
Colombia is the 2nd country in cryptocurrency adoption in Latin America
According to the Global Cryptocurrency Adoption Index by Chainalysis, a global blockchain data analytics company, published in 2021, Colombia is the second nation in Latin America with the highest adoption of cryptocurrencies, after Venezuela.
Likewise, the United Nations (UN) published a report on the need to regulate cryptocurrencies in June of this year. In it, it noted that in the Latin American country About 6,1% of the population is a user of cryptocurrencies and digital assets, placing the Colombian nation also in second place for crypto adoption rates in the region.
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