At JLC tax firm we manage on a daily basis processes with tax authorities related to refunds, tax investigations, wrong filings, overpayments, non-compliances, etc. Our rigorous tax strategies help organizations in achieving favorable results when audits from tax authorities take place, wrong advisory will bring devastating consequences and subsequent legal motions will be costlier and possibly will take years to come to a resolution. Look for the right help at the right moment to avoid economic outflows that will always end up in a bad image before governmental institutions.
Our staff has been
part of big tax and
accounting firms
And we can tell the path to come directly and talk to one of our experts is far easier and faster than walking through the difficulties of contacting huge companies with a lot of bureaucracy and hierarchical levels to find the right solution. Our partners and experts’ doors are always open to assist you immediately and work towards a quick resolution no matter what it takes, our purpose is to deliver outstanding and valuable services with a close relationship JLC – client making you feel at home and with a tax ally to help you grow in any situation.
If you are looking for a proper fit for your business and searching around for the right tax firm, do not hesitate to give us a call or email us and we will get back to you on the same day providing you an initial free meeting to address your problems and encourage you to follow the best course of action for your queries and do not jeopardize your business because of wrong decisions.
Tax consultant Bogotá Colombia
If you are looking for a Colombian Tax Company to provide you with proper tax advisory, at JLC we have a select group of tax experts who have been servicing companies located in Colombia for quite a long time on a variety of projects of small and large scale that enable us to be the best fit for you.
Frequently, individuals and corporations are looking for someone to help them on filing certain tax reports and it becomes kind of tricky because of confusing special tax laws in each territory. Tax advisory most of the times is quite expensive because of the complex processes followed in big law and accounting firms by usually multi-checking levels of associates, partners, staff and so on. This is a good practice though, all the companies do not need the same level of revision to go through needless hourly rates that bring along large budget allocations for tax purposes. We deliver on a timely manner, high standard tax practices as per your individual business needs to help you increase your market value and administer all tax considerations.
It is sometimes difficult to connect the dots between what it triggers to have a good tax management and cash savings, it all ends up in increasing stockholder value and safeguard shareholders’ assets.
Colombia is very well known for being one of the countries where taxes are high and many complexities spin around. There are several reports that need to be filed periodically and are fully dependent upon the bookkeeping. In order to determine income tax, on the value of assets, liabilities, equity, income, costs and expenses, taxpayers that are required to maintain accounting records shall apply the recognition and measurement systems, in accordance with the normative technical accounting frameworks in force in Colombia.
Companies with good tax practices usually have the following to do’s list in place:
- System to check tax balances monthly
- Guidance of outsourced tax experts for taxes preparation
- Local tax compliance is integrated with overseas tax requirements
- Procedure for preparation and verification of taxes
- Continuous tax training for in-house employees (if any)
- Streamline tax compliance duties
- Customized ERP to ease periodic tax compliance and reduce tax risks as much as possible.
Corporations tax compliance
Very frequently the regulations are changing, and it brings along associated risks that will jeopardize the organizations. It is necessary to always stay ahead and avoid any non-compliances. We deeply understand that taxes are probably the most important concern.
Companies need to build efficient tax planning to save as much as possible and be careful on how their cash will be impacted. Those organizations having the opportunity to count on tax advisory will be ahead of any regulatory change and will be well protected of any future contingencies.
In case you have not adopted some of the items mentioned above, it is time to let professional tax advisory come into play and allow your organization to be shielded from any tax audits that are often performed by tax authorities always digging to the deepest to find anomalies and impose penalties. Our specialists will not only contribute detecting potential risks but also developing solid tax strategies to become fully compliant.
Our staff is constantly creating new ways to be tax effective with innovative tools tailored to your needs. At JLC will be hand to hand with the management on any tax assignment either it is VAT, corporate income tax, non-resident income tax and resident income tax, withholding tax, CREE tax, etc. Our areas of expertise are:
Given our experience with companies with Home Offices in countries such as India, Spain, United States, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Washington, Germany, Chile, Brazil, among others, we deliver specialized services because of our exposure with different cultures and it enables us to deeply understand different working models and more effective response to your requirements. Our staff is prepared to produce any necessary reports requested by the Management or Head Office under local and international standards.
Individuals tax consulting
Individuals income tax is always impacting everyone’s pocket and people are not less cautious in saving money than companies. Nowadays, governments are becoming more aware of the challenges to collect money from tax-payers demanding reports from all kind of organizations with a wide variety of technological components to clearly identify what tax obligations each individual is subject to.
Within the full range of services provided by us on this field we have:
Our goal is streamlining your income tax expense and make as efficient as possible your tax deductions during the year. It is every year’s-end struggle for individuals to figure out a proper way to generate exemptions or leverage the daily expenses to end up paying less.
Tax accouting services – bookkeeping
Many small business owners usually perform different roles in the organizations such as: receptionist, commercial manager, accountant, etc and it is very difficult to put their attention on growing their relationships to close more deals. Right in this moment is where step in to help you by giving you back the opportunity to focus entirely on your business while we offer a comfortable and perfect fit for your tax accounting services.
When bookkeeping services are deployed, it is mandatory to count on tax accounting services support for filing all periodic obligations demanded by local governments. Tax advisory is quite different from tax accounting services as the latter one only refers to the regular tax filings where the aim is to properly register all entries based on company’s experience but no guidance on tax matters is there. Basic transactions are posted and when indications of potential tax problems are there a resolution is sought from the management without involvement in final tax positions adopted by the organization.
Regular or standard tax accounting services comprise of:
01 – Monthly withholding tax:
Colombian tax code specifies that withholdings are an anticipated tax collection mechanism. It means such collections will only take place if the activity is levied with the corresponding tax.
Withholding tax agents are all legal entities that based on their functions take part in acts or transactions where, by express legal mandate, it is mandatory the application of tax withholdings.
The obligations of withholding entities are: deduct the corresponding withholdings; transferring the amounts deducted to the Government through banks mechanisms previously established and according to the timings provided by the Government; filing monthly withholding tax returns and issue once a year the withholding tax certificate to the party subject to withholding. Withholdings tax rates vary from 1% to 20% for all type of transactions.
02 – Monthly income tax self-withholding:
From January 2017, taxpayers have become self-withholding entities only if the meet the following:
- To be a Colombian entity, foreign entity or permanent establishment.
- To be exempt from social security contributions when the employees earn up to 10 minimum wages
This self-withholding mechanism takes place whenever potentially any sale or income generations occurs and the rate applicable goes from 0.4% to 1.6% according to economic activity type. Self-withholding responsible entities must file and pay monthly
03 – VAT (every 2 or 4 months):
The value added tax (VAT) is an indirect tax levied on:
- Sales of movable and immovable tangible goods that have not been expressly excluded
- Sale or transfer of rights in intangible assets, solely associated with industrial property
- Render of services in Colombia or abroad, unless expressly excluded
- The import of movable tangible goods that have not been expressly excluded
- The circulation, sale or operation of games of chance, except for lotteries and games of chance operated exclusively through internet.
It is relevant to highlight that the services rendered from outside Colombia are VAT taxable, when the recipient and/or beneficiary is in Colombian territory. There are particular rules that will help to decide when the beneficiary is in Colombian territory. Other transactions are determined as exempt, which means rated at 0%. Other ones are determined as excluded which means the transaction is not VAT-taxed and any recoverable VAT will be treated as part of the cost or expenses.
The parties responsible of paying VAT Entities or individuals carrying out sales, rendering services or importing goods are responsible of paying the VAT, as follows:
- Sellers of goods either distributors or manufacturers
- Services providers not excluded from this tax
- Importers of moving tangible assets not expressly excluded from the tax
- Service providers from abroad defined by resolution by the Tax Administration
The taxable base must in all cases be the total value of the transaction, whether it is goods or services. Additionally, there are particular taxable bases for certain sale or service transactions. The general VAT rate is 19%, but there are reduced rates of 5% and 0% for certain goods and services. VAT taxpayers are enabled to take as creditable against VAT generated, all VAT paid on purchases different than fixed assets.
Industry and Commerce Tax:
It is a municipal tax that levies gross revenues generated from the development of industrial, commercial and service activities conducted, directly or indirectly, by individuals, legal entities or unincorporated companies in the relevant municipal jurisdiction.
To determine the taxable base, it is necessary to get the gross amount received, subtract some permitted deductions, exemptions and nontaxed operations.
The tax rate is established by each of the municipalities who by law has the authority to set it within the following ranges:
- For industrial activities, from 0.2% to 0.7%
- For commercial and service activities, from 0.2% to 1%
All the above-mentioned tax obligations are compulsory and must be part of bookkeeping services to cover integrally the regular periodic needs. However, there is a set of tasks which need to be agreed independently when the company is looking for 100% coverage of tax compliance. Our tax firm located in Bogota, Colombia will help you with you tax accounting services and will assist you through the full compliance at affordable rates to keep your company safe and mitigating any tax liability.
Personalized tax services
- Review of your bookkeeping and the backups which are base to the accounting records monthly, targeting the preparation of the tax statements.
- Tax statements review when prepared by in-house accounting personnel. It happens when we don’t service you with accounting outsourcing)
- All findings as bookkeeping is checked, is duly communicated to the management. Action points of improvement and tax return preparation processes are determined in these communications.
- Advising you with the possible ways out towards getting proper tax relief at a different tax stage.
Tax planning
When it comes to planning, as mentioned above, there are a lot of benefits for any company due to the rapidly changing world economy that is always in flux. Organizations with the best experts have the right people and the most advanced technology to efficiently monitor tax compliance, therefore, it is better to have specialized people with the right tools to stay away from uncertainties and ensure soundness in all their procedures.
People often talk about how to lessen the tax impact, thinking of it as a button that can be pressed at any time to save tons of money.
Frankly speaking, there is no alternative as such, the Administration will have to find a realistic plan and do everything possible to reduce fiscal spending, however, most of the time it is not a magically achievable goal through a simple decision, this comprises of several steps that must be practical and must be started well in advance to provide satisfactory results. Tax planning can save money if done correctly, but with the wrong application it can attract the attention of tax authorities or more tax clutter.
It is understood that an organization has some tax planning as part of its procedures because:
- There is a clear understanding of DTT – Double Tax Treaties
- At least 3 months in advance, the administration discusses the expected results for the end of the year
- Valid certificates are obtained to verify any possible tax liability.
- There are meetings with tax experts to validate the current status of the business and provide efficient and effective ways to reduce tax impacts.
- The fiscal results are compared monthly with the results of the previous year to detect accounting errors or money leaks.