• Submitted by: manso
• Politics and Government
• 09 / 11 / 2011

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By: nuriem. Havana, Sep 10 (Prensa Latina) Regulations approved by the Council of Ministers in May to continue making self-employment, or private work, more flexible are now in effect, it was reported Saturday.

The website of the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cuba, www.gacetaoficial.cu, posted two special editions, No. 28 and No. 29, containing the related decrees and resolutions, Granma newspaper reported.

The hiring of workers by licensed self-employed workers is now permitted for all activities.

From July to December of 2011, licensed self-employed workers are exempt from paying "use of labor" taxes for the first five workers they hire.

The new regulations add several new activities to the approved list of private work activities, including granite-maker, insurance agent, and party organizer (weddings, sweet-15, etc.), and clarify the activity of wheelbarrow-operator or produce street vendor. The total number of licensed activities is now 181.

With respect to self-employed workers and Social Security taxes, workers may now make retroactive contributions over 10 years instead of two.

Also, women 60 and older and men 65 and older are now exempt from the requirement of enrolling in the Social Security program for private workers.

Those who meet the requirements and asked to be dropped from the program will have their payments returned.

In the area of housing rental, the monthly minimum tax for renting rooms was lowered from 200 to 150 pesos, and the owners of paladares, or private restaurants, may now have up to 50 seats, 30 more than what was previously permitted.