Colombia’s Finance Minister has confirmed the government will file a new financing law on 20 July that would revive and expand the alcohol tax measures suspended with the December 2025 emergency decree – moving the country toward one of the region’s most promising alcohol tax structures.

“If the Law Is Approved, the Tax Burden on Alcoholic Beverages Would Increase Significantly”

Infobae Colombia reports:

“If the law is approved, the tax burden on alcoholic beverages would increase significantly: the tax would go from 5% to 19% for spirits, wines, aperitifs and similar beverages … with a specific component of $750 per degree of alcohol and an ad valorem of 30% on the sale price.”

“Minister of Finance Germán Ávila confirmed the bill will be filed on 20 July.”

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Other Articles on the Same Topic

  • The Ministry of Finance has confirmed that it will introduce tax reforms to raise $16 billions (La Republica)
  • Petro confirmed that, following the Constitutional Court’s ruling, he will introduce a new financing bill (La Republica)
  • These were the Constitutional Court’s grounds for overturning the economic emergency (El Espectador)
  • Parliament responds to President Petro’s new tax reform proposal (El Espectador)
  • New funding bill would reinstate a surcharge on the financial sector and a tax on spirits (La Republica)
  • President Gustavo Petro announces new tax reform, drawing criticism from the Conservative Party (El Espectador)

Assessment

The proposed financing law represents the Petro government’s third attempt to reform Colombia’s alcohol tax system – and the first to take the constitutionally mandated legislative route since the original reform failed in Congress in December 2025. The subsequent emergency decree (Decree-Law 1474), which introduced the same tax structure by executive order, was struck down by the Constitutional Court in April 2026, with six of nine justices ruling that a congressional rejection does not justify emergency powers. The government must now secure a legislative majority for measures it has twice failed to enact – but the policy substance remains strong.

The new attempt of the Petro government indicates progress in Colombia public health advocates and scientists to inform the political discourse about the benefits of raising alcohol taxes: preventing harm, lowering costs, and raising revenue.

The proposed structure would bring Colombia significantly closer to an evidence-based alcohol taxation model:

  • raising VAT from 5% to 19% on spirits, wines, and aperitifs,
  • combined with a specific component of COP 750 per degree of alcohol, and
  • a 30% ad valorem rate.

The mixed specific-plus-ad-valorem approach is particularly important: it taxes both alcohol content and product value, reducing incentives for producers to shift consumers toward cheaper, higher-strength products.

World Bank modelling has projected that restructuring Colombia’s alcohol tax along these lines could reduce alcohol use by 11% and prevent approximately 1,400 deaths per year – in a country where alcohol causes nearly 10,000 deaths annually and remains the leading risk factor for death among people aged 15 to 49.

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Saving lives through alcohol taxation
Restructuring Colombia’s alcohol tax along these lines could reduce alcohol use by 11% and prevent approximately 1,400 deaths per year.

The Petro government has struggled to build congressional majorities throughout its tenure, and the original tax reform was defeated not because of opposition to alcohol taxation specifically but because of broader fiscal and political disagreements in a deeply polarised legislature. With the presidential election approaching, the window between the 20 July filing date and the end of the legislative term is extremely narrow, and opposition parties have little incentive to hand the outgoing government a major policy win. The Partido Conservador and Centro Democrático are already framing the bill as an electoral manoeuvre – a narrative that risks overshadowing the strong fiscal and public health case for reform.

But recognition of the popular support for raising alcohol taxes is also an indicator of progress in shaping the information environment around alcohol harm and policy discussions.

Still, the immediate legislative prospects are uncertain – but the longer-term trajectory is clear. Each successive attempt has moved the debate forward, and the core tax design is now well-developed, evidence-backed, and publicly supported. Regardless of whether this particular bill passes before elections, advocates can use the period ahead to ensure that modern, evidence-based alcohol taxation remains a ready-to-implement priority for whichever government takes office next.