The decline in imports during the last year, caused a drop in sales tax revenue in customs, which in February, had a real decrease of 1.39% compared to the growth of 18.3% in the same period in 2012, according to calculations made by La Nacion using data supplied by the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank.

The article in Nacion.com reports that "The lower consumption of households and businesses in the last year weakened the collection of sales tax because this tax went from a real annual increase of near to 10.8% in February 2012, to 2.2% in the previous month, according to the Ministry of Finance. "

"... The slowdown is significant because this tax is the main indicator for the rate of private consumption. When this tax revenue grows, it reflects increased consumption and vice versa. In fact, the lowest growth began to manifest in October 2011, when an annual rate that even exceeded 15%, began to decline. "

Source: Nacion.com

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