Fecoljuegos warns against activation of “escape clause” in Colombia
The Colombian Federation of Entrepreneurs of Games of Chance, Fecoljuegos has expressed its firm rejection of the activation of the “escape clause” by the Superior Council of Fiscal Policy (CONFIS), which will allow the National Government to suspend the fiscal rule for the next three years.
The fiscal rule, implemented in 2011, places restrictions on government spending and debt to maintain the long-term sustainability of public finances and macroeconomic stability. Colombia has invoked the clause to lift borrowing limits, as the finance ministry projects the largest fiscal deficit since the pandemic. Additionally, the ministry announced plans to present a bill to Congress aimed at raising taxes. The government has also revised its forecast for the 2025 fiscal deficit to approximately 7.1% of gross domestic product.
Fecoljuegos, warned that this measure “opens the door to improvised decisions that could affect formal and compliant sectors like ours, which has shown a commitment to legality, job creation, and financing public health through the payment of exploitation rights.”
Fecoljuegos argued that “the suspension of the fiscal rule, without a context of emergency that fully justifies it, jeopardizes investor confidence, increases the perception of country risk, and leaves open the possibility that new burdens could be imposed on those who already comply with rigorous regulatory and tax requirements . . . we cannot punish those who have operated transparently and within the legal framework. We reject any intention to shift the cost of fiscal imbalance to the sectors that already sustain a significant part of the country’s social fabric.”
Fecoljuegos called on the National Government to reconsider and “to act with institutional responsibility, and to build economic policy scenarios that favour competitiveness, investment, and the sustainability of the legal business sector.”
Earlier this month Fecoljuegos raised concerns regarding Decree 0572, which requires advance collection of withholding tax for 2026, starting from May 29, 2025. This new requirement adds to the already existing 19% VAT on online games that was introduced earlier in 2025 to address a public order emergency in Catatumbo.
