Several protests against a planned reform that would increase taxes on the wealthy to fund social programmes were held across Colombia on Saturday.

The proposal is being promoted by President Gustavo Petro, the first elected socialist leader of the South American nation.

"Today, we ask the government to take into account the productive sector of the country, to understand that tax reform is not needed in the way they are doing it," businessman Alvaro Aparicio, 58, told AFP in Bogota.

People protested the measure sponsored by Petro, who entered office in August, on the streets of Cali, Barranquilla, Medellin, and other cities while donning white and waving the national flag.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/colombia-breaks-coca-growing-record-slams-war-on-drugs-527399">Colombia breaks coca-growing record, slams 'failure of war on drugs', moots amnesty</a>

The proposal, which would boost taxes on the wealthy to pay for initiatives to combat poverty and inequality, is being discussed in Congress.

The peso has historically devalued versus the dollar, and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/colombia-bus-accident-at-least-20-killed-driver-lost-control-in-foggy-area-525848">Colombia</a> is currently experiencing significant inflation, along with other nations throughout the world. The unemployment rate is 10.6%.

Petro ran for office on a platform of taxing the wealthy more heavily, halting oil drilling, and giving arable land to farmers who lack access to it.

In 2019, 2020, and 2021, Ivan Duque, the former right-wing president of Ecuador (2018–2022), faced sizable demonstrations.

The bloodiest incident happened last year when the president at the time attempted to tax the middle class in order to combat the pandemic's effects.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Several protests against a planned reform that would increase taxes on the wealthy to fund social programmes were held across Colombia on Saturday. The proposal is being promoted by President Gustavo Petro, the first elected socialist leader of the South American nation.

Several protests against a planned reform that would increase taxes on the wealthy to fund social programmes were held across Colombia on Saturday. The proposal is being promoted by President Gustavo Petro, the first elected socialist leader of the South American nation. "Today, we ask the government to take into account the productive sector of the country, to understand that tax reform is not needed in the way they are doing it," businessman Alvaro Aparicio, 58, told AFP in Bogota. People protested the measure sponsored by Petro, who entered office in August, on the streets of Cali, Barranquilla, Medellin, and other cities while donning white and waving the national flag. Also read | Colombia breaks coca-growing record, slams 'failure of war on drugs', moots amnesty The proposal, which would boost taxes on the wealthy to pay for initiatives to combat poverty and inequality, is being discussed in Congress. The peso has historically devalued versus the dollar, and Colombia is currently experiencing significant inflation, along with other nations throughout the world. The unemployment rate is 10.6%. Petro ran for office on a platform of taxing the wealthy more heavily, halting oil drilling, and giving arable land to farmers who lack access to it. In 2019, 2020, and 2021, Ivan Duque, the former right-wing president of Ecuador (2018–2022), faced sizable demonstrations. The bloodiest incident happened last year when the president at the time attempted to tax the middle class in order to combat the pandemic's effects. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Tax reform bill triggers protests across Colombia

India&#39;s parliament today passed a landmark tax reform&nbsp;bill&nbsp;that will pave the way for the introduction of a new national sales tax, and create a common market across the country for the first time. 
 
Parliament&#39;s upper house, Rajya Sabha, passed the long-awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST)&nbsp;bill&nbsp;unanimously after Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s government reached a consensus with opposition parties over the new tax regime. The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014 was approved by the upper house with 203 votes in favour and none against, after a seven-hour debate during which a rare bonhomie was witnessed among the ruling and the opposition parties. 
 
The GST will replace a patchwork of central and state levies on goods and services and is one of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party government&#39;s biggest reforms since taking power in May 2014.&nbsp;Prime Minister Modi thanked the leaders and members of all the parties in a tweet&nbsp;after the bill received a thumbs up. 
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
On this truly historic occasion of the passage of the GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha, I thank the leaders and members of all parties.
&mdash; Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/760874175766507521">August 3, 2016</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
I would like to add that GST will also be the best example of cooperative federalism. Together we will take India to new heights of progress
&mdash; Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/760874652960821249">August 3, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script> 
The battle to introduce the economy-boosting GST has been one of the fiercest of Modi&#39;s premiership, with Congress repeatedly blocking the bill for more than a year, before finally agreeing to several amendments. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s the biggest tax reform since independence,&quot; finance minister Arun Jaitley told the NDTV television channel earlier today.&nbsp;&quot;It integrates India into one economic entity India becomes a big market, there will be a seamless transfer of goods and services across the country.&quot; 
 
Investors have billed the GST as a &quot;silver bullet&quot; for India&#39;s economy that would supplant multiple federal and state levies, a chaotic structure that inflates costs for businesses. 
&nbsp;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
GST Bill passed.India&#39;s enormous market--a caged tiger--will now be unleashed. GoodShowTeam India!
&mdash; anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) <a href="https://twitter.com/anandmahindra/status/760876374634721280">August 3, 2016</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Passing of the GST Amendment Bill will boost foreign investor sentiment <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GSTBill?src=hash">#GSTBill</a> 
Watch for inflows
&mdash; Mahesh (@invest_mutual) <a href="https://twitter.com/invest_mutual/status/760875005089423360">August 3, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script> 
Hailing the passage of the bill as an extremely progressive step, Walmart India today reacted positively. 
 
&quot;Passing of the GST bill today in Rajya Sabha is an extremely progressive step and long awaited one. GST is one of the critical tax reforms which has potential to create one single market in India for goods &amp; services and will boost country&#39;s economy significantly,&quot; Walmart India president and CEO Krish Iyer said in a statement. 
 
Businesses have lobbied hard for the tax, with lobby group the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) estimating the GST will add 1.5 to 2 percentage points to the annual economic growth rate. 
 
&quot;It is very much in the category of what one would call a big-bang reform,&quot; CII president Naushad Forbes told AFP.&nbsp;&quot;It will be a huge benefit to the ease of doing business, it&#39;s a huge potential efficiency gainer. It&#39;s a very significant potential contribution to the economy in the longer term,&quot; he said. 
 
India&#39;s GDP expanded 7.6 per cent in 2015-16, making it the fastest-growing major economy in the world.&nbsp;The actual tax is still some way off, however, with the government targeting April 2017 for its introduction, a date many experts say is overly optimistic. 
 
The bill that cleared the upper house today simply amends the constitution to grant the government new taxation powers.&nbsp;The bill must also be ratified by at least half of India&#39;s 29 states, before a specific GST bill can be introduced to enshrine the tax in law. 
 
The main rate of GST is still a hot topic for debate, with experts suggesting it is likely to end up at around 18 per cent.&nbsp;While GST may push up inflation in the short term because the price of some goods will rise, economists say it will boost business activity and deter tax evasion. 
 
About 150 countries worldwide have some form of GST or VAT (Value Added Tax), according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. 
 
(Agencies)

The passage of the bill was held up for years by political infighting, and its advancement marks a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi

India's parliament today passed a landmark tax reform bill that will pave the way for the introduction of a new national sales tax, and create a common market across the country for the first time. Parliament's upper house, Rajya Sabha, passed the long-awaited Goods and Services Tax (GST) bill unanimously after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government reached a consensus with opposition parties over the new tax regime. The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014 was approved by the upper house with 203 votes in favour and none against, after a seven-hour debate during which a rare bonhomie was witnessed among the ruling and the opposition parties. The GST will replace a patchwork of central and state levies on goods and services and is one of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party government's biggest reforms since taking power in May 2014. Prime Minister Modi thanked the leaders and members of all the parties in a tweet after the bill received a thumbs up. On this truly historic occasion of the passage of the GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha, I thank the leaders and members of all parties. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 3, 2016 I would like to add that GST will also be the best example of cooperative federalism. Together we will take India to new heights of progress — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 3, 2016 The battle to introduce the economy-boosting GST has been one of the fiercest of Modi's premiership, with Congress repeatedly blocking the bill for more than a year, before finally agreeing to several amendments. "It's the biggest tax reform since independence," finance minister Arun Jaitley told the NDTV television channel earlier today. "It integrates India into one economic entity India becomes a big market, there will be a seamless transfer of goods and services across the country." Investors have billed the GST as a "silver bullet" for India's economy that would supplant multiple federal and state levies, a chaotic structure that inflates costs for businesses. GST Bill passed.India's enormous market--a caged tiger--will now be unleashed. GoodShowTeam India! — anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) August 3, 2016 Passing of the GST Amendment Bill will boost foreign investor sentiment #GSTBill Watch for inflows — Mahesh (@invest_mutual) August 3, 2016 Hailing the passage of the bill as an extremely progressive step, Walmart India today reacted positively. "Passing of the GST bill today in Rajya Sabha is an extremely progressive step and long awaited one. GST is one of the critical tax reforms which has potential to create one single market in India for goods & services and will boost country's economy significantly," Walmart India president and CEO Krish Iyer said in a statement. Businesses have lobbied hard for the tax, with lobby group the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) estimating the GST will add 1.5 to 2 percentage points to the annual economic growth rate. "It is very much in the category of what one would call a big-bang reform," CII president Naushad Forbes told AFP. "It will be a huge benefit to the ease of doing business, it's a huge potential efficiency gainer. It's a very significant potential contribution to the economy in the longer term," he said. India's GDP expanded 7.6 per cent in 2015-16, making it the fastest-growing major economy in the world. The actual tax is still some way off, however, with the government targeting April 2017 for its introduction, a date many experts say is overly optimistic. The bill that cleared the upper house today simply amends the constitution to grant the government new taxation powers. The bill must also be ratified by at least half of India's 29 states, before a specific GST bill can be introduced to enshrine the tax in law. The main rate of GST is still a hot topic for debate, with experts suggesting it is likely to end up at around 18 per cent. While GST may push up inflation in the short term because the price of some goods will rise, economists say it will boost business activity and deter tax evasion. About 150 countries worldwide have some form of GST or VAT (Value Added Tax), according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. (Agencies)

Indian parliament's upper house passes landmark tax reform bill

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Tax reform bill triggers protests across Colombia

Indian parliament's upper house passes landmark tax reform bill