哥伦比亚总统呼吁民众利用免税日为经济复苏注入活力

新华社波哥大11月21日电哥伦比亚总统伊凡·杜克21日呼吁民众利用今年第三个、也是最后一个免税日，为遭受疫情打击的国家经济注入新的活力。

从周六开始，所有零售商品的增值税(增值税)将暂停24小时，在哥伦比亚，增值税的税率为19%。

杜克说:“这是重振经济、负责任地做这件事的一个非常重要的日子。”他呼吁人们为假期购物，避开人群，戴口罩，保持社交距离。

商务部、工业和旅游部公布的初步结果显示，销售额增长了30%以上，预计将超过5万亿比索(13.7亿美元)。

之前免税的日子分别是在6月和7月。

国家统计局周二发布报告称，自2019冠状病毒疫情爆发以来，2020年第三季度我国国内生产总值(GDP)同比下降9%。

BOGOTA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Colombian President Ivan Duque on Saturday urged the public to utilize the year's third and final VAT-free Day to re-energize the country's pandemic-hit economy.

For 24 hours, value-added tax (VAT), which in Colombia is set at 19 percent, will be suspended on all retail sales on Saturday.

"It is a very important day to reactivate our economy and to do it responsibly," said Duque, calling on people to shop for the holidays and avoid crowds, wear face masks and maintain social distancing.

The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism reported initial results of a more than 30 percent uptick in sales, which are expected to top 5 trillion pesos (1.370 billion U.S. dollars).

The previous VAT-free Days were in June and July respectively.

The National Administrative Department of Statistics reported on Tuesday that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of 2020 dropped 9 percent year-on-year following the COVID-19 pandemic.