International roundup

By Agencies
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Colombia’s first leftist president presented an ambitious tax plan on Monday that aims to raise up to $11 billion a year for anti-poverty programs.

Gustavo Petro was sworn into office on Sunday, and has promised to fight economic inequality while investing in rural areas that have long been haunted by drug-related violence.

Less than 24 hours after taking his presidential oath, the new president presented a tax reform plan to his nation’ s congress that will increase income taxes on wealthy individuals and place a 10% levy on oil exports. The bill also includes an annual wealth tax on individuals who have a net worth of more than $750,000 as well as sales taxes on soft drinks and highly processed foods.

Petro, who was formerly a member of a rebel group, has said it is vital for Colombia to increase state spending in order to fight poverty, and implement a 2016 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that includes land reform and rural development programs.

Tax collection in the South American Nation was worth roughly 19% of its total GDP in 2020, which is slightly below the Latin American average. 

Members of the OECD, an organization made up mostly of developed countries, collect an average of 33% of their GDP in taxes.

Governments in Colombia have long struggled with tax collection because much of the population works in the informal economy. 

Last year, an effort by conservative President Iván Duque to raise income taxes and some sales taxes sparked massive protests in which more than 50 people were killed.

Petro’s incoming finance minister said the new tax reform plan will only attempt to raise income taxes on the wealthiest 2% of individuals. 

He has urged Colombia’s wealthiest citizens to accept greater taxation, and addressed the issue during his inauguration speech.

“This should not be viewed as a punishment or a sacrifice. It is simply a solidary payment that someone fortunate makes to a society that has enabled them to generate wealth,” he said.

The government has also proposed doubling the nation’s 10% tax on dividends from stocks, and taxing the products of digital companies that aren’t based in Colombia. 

This might mean that Colombians would have to pay more taxes on their Netflix subscriptions or on books they buy on Amazon.

Colombia’s congress will now have to debate Petro’s proposed plan, which is expected to affect several areas of the economy.

PUERTO RICO

Former FBI agent Mark Rossini, who was indicted in a corruption case against a former Puerto Rico governor, turned himself into federal authorities Tuesday in the U.S. territory and declared himself not guilty, according to officials.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated Rossini’s attorney had reached out to authorities just days after former Gov. Wanda Vázquez was arrested to hand over his client.

Rossini is charged with conspiracy, federal program bribery and honest services wire fraud. 

He entered a not guilty plea during a brief court appearance in which a judge authorized that he could live in the U.S. mainland but not in Spain, where he is receiving cancer treatment. 

However, the judge said Rossini could travel to Spain for treatment.

Last Thursday, hours after FBI agents arrested Vázquez, federal officials announced they were seeking Rossini, who was in Spain.

Authorities said Rossini had provided consulting services to an Italian-Venezuelan banker who had promised to financially support Vázquez’s 2020 campaign for governor, in exchange for her dismissing the commissioner of Puerto Rico’s Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions and appointed a new one of the banker’s choosing. 

The banker, identified as Julio Herrera Velutini, is believed to be in the United Kingdom and faces charges including conspiracy, bribery and fraud.

After a new commissioner was installed, authorities said Herrera and Rossini paid more than $300,000 to political consultants to support Vázquez’s campaign.

Rossini was an FBI agent from roughly 1991 to 2008, when he resigned as part of a plea deal in which he pleaded guilty to criminally accessing a sensitive FBI database for personal purposes. 

Most of the searches were related to Anthony Pellicano, an infamous private detective for Hollywood stars who was charged in 2006 with wiretapping some celebrities and bribing a police officer.

CUBA

Flames engulfed a fourth tank at an oil storage facility in western Cuba this week as the raging fire consumes critical fuel supplies on an island grappling with a growing energy crisis.

Firefighters and specialists from Mexico and Venezuela helped fight the blaze in the province of Matanzas with boats, planes and helicopters as they sprayed foam on the containers, a first for crews since broiling temperatures had prevented them from doing so earlier.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said crews have taken control of the area where the fire is burning and are taking further steps to quell it.

“They are not easy tasks. It is an intense and complex incident,” he said.

The fire at the Matanzas Supertanker Base has killed at least one person and injured 125 others, with another 14 firefighters still missing. 

It also forced officials to evacuate more than 4,900 people and shut down a key thermoelectric plant on Monday after it ran out of water, sparking concerns about additional blackouts.

Those injured were treated mostly for burns and smoke inhalation, more than 20 remain hospitalized, with 5 of them in critical condition.

“This situation has us very worried at the moment because there are problems with electricity, with the environment, with the people who are still living here,” said Adneris Díaz a 22-year-old cafe owner.

The eight-tank facility plays a crucial role in Cuba’s electric system: it operates an extensive oil pipeline that receives Cuban crude oil that is then ferried to thermoelectric plants that produce electricity. 

It also serves as the unloading and transshipment center for imported crude oil, fuel oil and diesel.

The facility caught on fire late Friday after lightning struck one of its tanks, sparking several explosions as it spread over the weekend. 

The first tank was at 50% capacity and contained nearly 883,000 cubic feet (25,000 cubic meters) of fuel, the second tank was full.

Officials have yet to provide an estimate of damages.

The blaze comes just days after the government announced scheduled blackouts for the capital of Havana amid a sweltering summer.

“The economic effects are clear. They are there, we will notice them and we will see them, but we are confident, and we are going to come out of all this well,” said Tahimi Sánchez, another 48-year-old cafe owner.