A Tax Planning and Management of SMEs Diagnosis. An Application in Antioquia, Colombia

Abstract

Small and medium-sized enterprises are considered one of the main sectors of the economy due to their market participation and their ability to jointly generate employment. However, they are, at the same time, one of the most vulnerable sectors in terms of sustainability. One of the main factors of their weakness is tax planning and management. The objective of this article is to present a methodological strategy for the diagnosis of the implementation of tax management and planning strategies of SMEs based on a prior validation of a case study. To meet the objective, a systematic literature review was conducted, and a procedural guide was developed. The guide was previously validated through a survey used as a diagnostic instrument. The survey was applied to a selected sample of 59 SMEs in the municipality of Caucasia, Antioquia. The results showed low levels of effective application of tax management and planning instruments. The study also showed that 90% of SMEs do not take advantage of the special benefits of the ZOMAC [most affected zones by the armed conflict] regime, applicable to the municipality, that 31% of companies do not differentiate the concepts of avoidance and evasion and that 16% of SMEs do not know how to act in case of tax errors.

Keywords

• tax management
• taxes
• tax planning
• tax diagnosis
• sme