Katherin Díaz Velilla is co-founder and Managing Partner of V&V Asociados (VYV Strategy), a Bogotá boutique that advises foreign companies and investors on entering, operating and exiting Colombia. She spent more than eight years at the Colombian tax authority (DIAN) auditing cross-border operations. She designs structures with one question in mind: can this withstand a DIAN review? She has 14 years in international taxation and held leadership roles at the DIAN, EY, the Ministry of Finance and the Senate.
Díaz Velilla trained as a lawyer at the Universidad de Cartagena and holds a master’s in international tax law, with postgraduate formation and executive programmes from recognised institutions. She is current PHD candidate in UIC. Her career spans more than a decade across Colombia’s tax ecosystem including senior roles within the Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales (DIAN), advisory posts in the Ministry/Congress/Presidency environment and senior private‑sector tax positions, including a Business Tax Manager role at Ernst & Young. These combined public‑ and private‑sector roles underpin her pragmatic approach to contentious and preventive tax work.
As an international‑tax lawyer in Colombia, Díaz Velilla specialises in cross‑border tax structuring, tax‑efficient corporate reorganisations, transfer pricing, inbound/outbound investment planning and defence against high‑value audits and investigations. She is particularly known for advising technology platforms, FinTechs, energy projects, technology, manufacturing, services and international investor groups on creating tax structures that demonstrate economic substance and withstand DIAN scrutiny. Her practice is distinguished by a dual perspective: deep technical mastery of tax law and first‑hand familiarity with how Colombian authorities evaluate cross‑border arrangements.
Díaz Velilla is an active contributor to specialist tax publications and a frequent speaker at academic and industry events. She has authored columns and technical pieces for outlets focused on tax and regulatory matters and has been a speaker at the International Tax Congress and multiple university programmes in Colombia and abroad. Media profiles and industry interviews have highlighted her role in advising Colombian companies through the design and defence of international structures. Highligted as Founder to follow in Founders 2025.
In the press: Portafolio, Semana, Infobae, Valora Analitik, El Colombiano, El Tiempo and Noticias Uno, on double taxation, international structures, cross-border financing and tax reform.
Her work has been recognised in industry coverage and professional directories; she has been listed among entrepreneurial leaders by business media and participates in national and regional tax networks. Díaz Velilla maintains active membership in professional tax forums and academic networks, and serves as lecturer and thesis director in postgraduate tax programmes. These roles reinforce her reputation as both a practitioner and educator in international tax matters.
Colombia’s international‑tax environment continues to evolve rapidly: tax authorities have intensified scrutiny of cross‑border arrangements, emphasising economic substance, transfer pricing documentation and the tax treatment of digital‑economy business models. Companies face challenges from stricter documentation requirements, evolving multilateral standards and sector‑specific regulatory rules for FinTech and energy projects. Specialist expertise matters because effective compliance and defensible structures require mapping commercial reality to tax law, anticipating audits and aligning corporate governance with jurisdictional expectations.
Clients select Díaz Velilla for her practical blend of regulatory insight and transaction experience — an advantage when negotiating with authorities or designing structures intended to survive substantive scrutiny. V&V Asociados positions itself as a boutique capable of matching technical depth with nimble execution for fast‑moving sectors; the firm emphasises integrity, legal defensibility and measurable results such as tax optimisation, risk mitigation and successful dispute resolution. For businesses seeking an international‑tax lawyer in Colombia, that combination reduces execution risk and supports growth across borders.
Díaz Velilla advises that early diagnosis and documentation of economic substance, robust transfer‑pricing policies and careful alignment of commercial contracts with tax positions are essential first steps for any cross‑border operation. She guides clients through risk mapping, voluntary disclosures when appropriate, and litigation or negotiation strategies that prioritise business continuity and reputational protection. This practical, outcome‑oriented posture is central to her advisory model for international tax matters.
Díaz Velilla is a prominent international‑tax lawyer in Colombia whose combination of public‑sector perspective, private‑sector leadership and academic engagement equips her to lead sophisticated cross‑border tax assignments. Businesses and individuals seeking counsel on international tax structuring, transfer pricing, digital economy regulation or high‑stakes tax defence will find in her practical orientation, sector experience and documented public profile a well‑rounded advisor for navigating Colombia’s changing tax environment.
Katherin Diaz Velilla is a leading international-tax lawyer in Colombia, co-founder and managing partner of V&V Asociados, with experience in both public sector tax authorities (including DIAN) and senior private-sector tax roles.
They provide international tax advisory and defence, cross-border tax structuring, transfer pricing documentation, tax-efficient corporate reorganisations, controversy and audit defence, inbound/outbound investment planning, and guidance on digital-economy regulation and compliance with new international tax standards.
She works with technology platforms, FinTechs, banking and payments, renewable energy projects and extractive supply chains on matters such as market entry and fundraising planning, holding and group finance structures, intercompany contracting, M&A tax aspects, and defence against high-value audits and investigations.
Her dual perspective: deep technical mastery of tax law combined with first-hand experience of how Colombian authorities evaluate cross-border arrangements, allows her to design defensible structures that demonstrate economic substance and to negotiate effectively with tax authorities.
She recommends early diagnosis and documentation of economic substance, robust transfer-pricing policies, alignment of commercial contracts with tax positions, proactive risk mapping, voluntary disclosures when appropriate, and litigation or negotiation strategies that prioritize business continuity and reputation.
She holds a law degree from Universidad de Cartagena and a master’s in international tax law, plus specialised certifications and executive programmes; she is a frequent speaker and author on tax topics, participates in national and regional tax networks, and has been recognised in industry directories and business media.
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