Andrés Felipe Velásquez appointed head of Colombia's DIAN

The administration of President Abelardo de la Espriella is finalizing its economic leadership team in Colombia. Tax attorney Andrés Felipe Velásquez has been appointed as the new Director of the National Directorate of Taxes and Customs (DIAN), replacing Carlos Emilio Betancourt. Velásquez, a specialist in international taxation, assumes leadership of the country's tax, exchange, and customs systems.

In parallel, Finance Minister Miguel Gómez Martínez announced that the ministry's first priority will be a budget cut. The government aims to reduce public spending by at least 20 trillion pesos, approximately 1% of GDP, to address public finance deterioration and a projected fiscal deficit of 7.8% of GDP.

The administration also plans to present a structural tax reform to Congress. A central pillar of this reform is the elimination of the wealth tax, a move the President argues will encourage investment and production. The reform also seeks to simplify the tax system and strengthen measures against tax evasion.