Key Points
— Pinturas Bler CEO José William Ruiz says Colombian companies pay roughly 50% of income in taxes — “something you don’t see in almost any other country” — with more levies coming under the Petro government’s emergency fiscal decrees
— Despite a collapsed construction sector, the 45-year-old paint manufacturer grew sales 12% in 2025 by expanding into Venezuela, Peru, and Ecuador — projecting $2 million in Venezuelan sales for 2026 and total revenue of $20 million
— The company’s survival strategy illustrates a broader trend: Colombian mid-market firms are being forced to internationalize not by ambition but by a domestic environment where construction has contracted, taxes have risen, and interest rates are heading toward 12%
The Colombia tax burden has reached a point where mid-market manufacturers are being forced abroad to survive. The Rio Times, the Latin American financial news outlet, reports that Pinturas Bler — a 45-year-old paint company with 6–7% domestic market share — grew sales 12% in 2025 not because the home market improved, but because it had no choice but to look across the border after Colombia’s construction sector, the industry’s lifeblood, effectively collapsed.
“We’re paying roughly 50% of our income in taxes — that’s something you don’t see in almost any other country, and more taxes are coming,” CEO José William Ruiz Olarte told La República. His frustration reflects a broader sentiment across Colombian industry as the Petro government layers new levies onto an economy where businesses are already squeezed between declining demand and rising interest rates.
The Colombia Tax Burden in Context
Ruiz’s 50% figure is not hyperbole. Since December 2025, the Petro government has used emergency economic decrees to impose a wave of new taxes after Congress rejected its Financing Law — including a 15-point income tax surcharge bringing financial institutions’ effective rate to 50%, and a new corporate wealth tax on companies with assets above roughly $2 million.
Additional levies include a 1% tax on the first sale or export of hydrocarbons, higher consumption taxes on alcohol and tobacco, and expanded VAT coverage — all layered on top of Colombia‘s existing 35% corporate income tax rate. The government is targeting 26.3 trillion pesos in new revenue to fill its 2026 budget gap, and legal experts warn the constitutional court may strike down the emergency decrees, creating further uncertainty.
Forced Internationalization
With no new housing to paint at home — Colombia’s per capita paint consumption of 0.75 gallons trails Venezuela’s 1.5 gallons — Pinturas Bler turned to its neighbors. The company projects $2 million in Venezuelan sales for its first year and is exploring Peru and Ecuador, though the latter remains on hold due to tariff complications.
The logistics work in its favor: the company operates at just 60% capacity, meaning it can supply all three markets from its Colombian plants without building abroad. It sold 1.9 million gallons in 2025, targets 2.2 million in 2026, and projects total revenue of 65 billion pesos (approximately $20 million). White, the CEO noted, has been the bestselling color for a decade.
A Pattern Across Colombian Industry
Pinturas Bler’s story is a microcosm of what is happening across Colombia’s mid-market manufacturing base. Companies that cannot absorb 50% effective tax rates, double-digit interest rates, and a construction downturn simultaneously are being forced to find revenue abroad or face contraction.
With rates heading toward 12% by year-end and the 2026 election cycle adding political uncertainty, the pressure on firms to look outward is only intensifying. As Ruiz put it: “Colombia’s traders and industrialists work with enormous force just to stay afloat.” The question is how long that force can compensate for an economic environment that seems designed to push capital out rather than attract it in.