• Submitted by: manso
• Business and Economy
• 10 / 26 / 2010

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By Paul Haven, The Associated Press. 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.

Source: http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/headline_news/article.jsp?conten...