Comparative Analysis of the Industry and Commerce Tax Systems in Cartagena, Turbaco, Arjona, Santa Rosa, and Magangué

Abstract

This article presents a comparative analysis of the Industry and Commerce Tax (Impuesto de Industria y Comercio, ICA) systems of Cartagena, Turbaco, Arjona, Santa Rosa, and Magangué, five territorial entities in the department of Bolívar, Colombia. The study is based on an integrative review of academic literature, tax doctrine, and territorial normative sources, using a qualitative, comparative, and legal-documentary approach. The analysis focuses on the main components of local ICA systems, including the governing legal acts, taxable event, taxable person, tax base, tax rates, territoriality rules, billboards and signs, exemptions or preferential treatments, formal obligations, penalties, and audit and collection powers. The findings indicate that the five jurisdictions share the general legal structure of ICA as a territorial tax on industrial, commercial, and service activities, but differ in significant aspects of normative design, procedural configuration, and regulatory traceability. The article argues that comparative analysis of ICA should consider both substantive tax provisions and the degree of normative accessibility through which local tax systems become legally intelligible and administratively operable (Vidarte González, 2021; Muñoz, 2016; Martínez Alvarado, 2020).