Coljuegos business forum. At the first business table that Coljuegos carried out, it was held in Barranquilla on Friday, August 9, where the new slot machine in route business model was socialized, and which was attended by about 50 operators.
There Coljuegos explained what the operating conditions are in order to obtain an operating contract of this model, among these conditions this must be a minimum of 300 elements per contract.
However, Rosa María, a Coljuegos official, explained that the entity understood that this was a high figure, so they are looking to reduce it to 80 slot machines, which is the minimum limit allowed by law 643 of 2001.
But exploitation rights continue to be 12% of net revenues.
After this intervention, the operators began to participate actively because they had a great disagreement with the collection of the exploitation rights.
“Currently the machines if the income goes from 2'070.000 Colombian pesos there if 12% is applied otherwise the other rate is applied to each machine that does not generate this value or a higher one, there we are in the funnel law. Everything for them and nothing for outside. We are in a law of inequality. We are here because we all want to have the legal business, everyone wants to get out of illegality, and our hope was in the PND, but now we are in limbo we don't feel well. It is impossible for us to pay this tax and VAT also, for us it is not business in this way, it should be similarly as it happened with sports betting that were given a different charge so that the business was attractive while it became stable . ”
To which Coljuegos simply replied that currently "the highest value must be paid between what is stipulated in article 34 and 12%"
“We see that these conditions are impossible for us who want to make an investment in this looking for other income, we ask to make this rule more flexible. Now, no machine we have can be homologated because we have hybrids, if you apply 12% to new ones and not to us who have been 20 years old we would be ignoring the Constitution, we are all equal before the law, you would be removing old operators, who have been contributing to health for many years, ”argued an operator.
Rosa María, a Coljuegos official, clarified that “This is a law that had no initiative of Coljuegos and is very strict in its application. And the law was tied to conditions of reliability and connectivity. Moreover, those who do not meet these conditions discriminate against them as illegal. If both conditions do not apply, the 12% tax cannot be applied. Coljuegos has made too many consultations with external entities and they have told us that it is simply not possible”
In this way, the operators decided to continue expressing themselves, trying to demonstrate to Coljuegos the consequences that this is bringing, together with what would happen if the idea of applying the collection continues as stipulated in the PND only to the contracts concluded after the 25 of May.
“That ¿would not lead to unfair competition? Because then a casino that is 3 years ago and is paying 5-6 million Colombian pesos taxes and next, they put a new one that pays 3 million Colombian pesos taxes because it was benefited with the new legal charge. This new one will be the one who makes the raffles, gives the drink, the car, etc. What do you think about that war that you are creating without need?” Said one of the operators.
To these strong arguments, the official Rosa Maria gave the attendees an air of encouragement, expressing on a new formalization program that will begin Coljuegos.
“In this formalization program, the idea is to put different conditions to ensure that the interested parties operate and can access other benefits under the different formalization program, in what is now in the national development plan what we have seen is that you cannot do something else to what we are doing.”
The attendees asked for start dates, or when this new formalization program and Coljuegos could be seen, did NOT give any answer, so the arguments continued to show that this business model that raised Coljuegos on the road machines was not viable because of the way in which taxes are collected.
“We are going to swell the army of prostitutes and criminals, plus Venezuelan emigrants because we are talking about 10,000 shopkeepers representing 10,000 families. Buying a machine is cheaper than paying taxes, here we are experiencing the same problem as motorcycle taxis, which is an illegal transport not allowed, the motorcycle taxi driver is taken away, and with 700 thousand pesos he returns and buys another motorcycle. The same goes for machines, you take out machines, but a machine is bought with 1,000,000 and the operators of this business model at this time prefer that the machines to pay taxes be taken away,” argues an operator present.
“I don't know what interests there are with the big companies because it makes no sense that I put a machine worth 40'000,000 Colombian pesos on the street knowing that they don't give money and they are the only ones that are going to sell or at least those are the prices that are going to have the machines that you are asking for with the conditions of reliability that they expose. ” added another operator
To which Coljuegos responded: "we agree with all the arguments that you expose, but the restriction at the moment we have it in the law"
“And all without taking into account that No bank opens a bank account, we don't know what siplaft is for, we have to change the activity (sale of cassava, sale of furniture) and then we change the activity again is a double expense and we know that It is not ethically well done but it is something that we have to do, because among the conditions that you show us and require us to have a contract is to have a bank account. There is a double standard there, because the money I pay the state is money is clean, but the money I am going to keep for myself, or the money in my savings is dirty silver, and they do not receive it from me in the banks ” held one of the assistants.
Already with the heated environment, the assistants began to demand the presence of President Juan B. Perez since the entity had promised that he would be there, which was a strong motivator for several operators to travel from different parts of the city to ravine
However, the officials of the entity had to ask for excuses for their absence due to a delay of about two hours on the agenda that Juan B. had with the governor there.
Coljuegos resumed its arguments to close the negotiating table and said that “We have been with the financial superintendence, and financial entities, we have been approaching them talking about the sector and what is being done in the sector. The gateway to the financial sector has been to show you the prevention of the money laundering and terrorist financing prevention system, that is, I understand that for you it has been an operational burden, but believe me that this has been the only real access alternative to the financial system. It is a path that coljuegos is committed to continue working.
