Cuba makes self employment rules official

[El Presidente]

he Associated Press October 25, 2010, 12:37PM

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9J2R4K00.htm

Cuba makes self employment rules official

By PAUL HAVEN

HAVANA

Cuba has made official the grand economic changes it announced last month, publishing nearly 100 pages of rules and regulations for small businesses in the government Gazette on Monday.

The move means eagerly anticipated licenses for the self-employed should be around the corner. Lines of potential entrepreneurs formed Monday at several government offices around the capital.

Cuba announced on Sept. 13 that it would lay off half a million workers and push them into the private sector, and later detailed some 178 private jobs that will be allowed, the most significant economic changes on the island since the early 1990s. But the rules did not become law until they were published.

The measures allow Cubans over the age of 17 to start their own businesses, so long as they are permanent residents. Citizens will also be allowed to apply for licenses for more than one business. They will even be allowed to sell their services to the state, though there will be strict transparency rules to try to stave off corruption.

The law also establishes up to six months of sick leave and a year of maternity leave so that self-employed workers don't have to pay taxes when they are not earning.

It details four kinds of taxes for the private sector: a sliding personal income tax, a sales tax, a public service tax and a payroll tax. It also establishes minimum monthly fees for different kinds of businesses, as well as deductions Cuban can take to reduce their tax burden.

[sblevit]

Cuba changes their entire economy with 100 pages of new laws and here in the US we change 6% of our economy with a 2500 page bill and likely thousands more of administrative regulations. . .

[El Presidente]

Cuba changes their entire economy with 100 pages of new laws and here in the US we change 6% of our economy with a 2500 page bill and likely thousands more of administrative regulations. . .

...or likely Cuba changes nothing

[Leopolis Semper Fidelis]

The Castro clique makes limited changes because Cuba's economy is in dire straits. If it suits them to withdraw these minor concessions, they will.

[sblevit]

...or likely Cuba changes nothing

I'll admit that I don't know squat about Cuban politics, but if I could bet on it, I would bet that this is just a first step in a broader move towards a "state capitalist" system similar to China. But this change will take 10 - 20 years to implement in baby steps.