8672: Haitian Taxes (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: JHUDICOURTB@aol.com

For those who wonder where the Preval government got money to do all its 
construction projects without foreign aid, then you should try to live in 
Haiti for a while to see how much tax the citizenry pays.  Just imagine that 
in the airport alone at least a thousand people (4 AA flights, 2 AF flights, 
1 ALM, 2 Canadian, + other lesser known) each day pay either 125 gourdes for 
Haitians or U$30 +10gdes for Americans.  That is in addition to the taxes 
paid when you buy the ticket if you buy it in Haiti.  At the airport alone 
they have enough to build roads.  They obviously spend nothing towards 
service to the airport clientele.  Think of how dirty you suitcase gets while 
you are checking in because that floor is so nasty.   It would only cost 
U$100/month to hire someone to mop all day.  One of the reasons why AA 
actually dominates the market so heavily is that whenever international norms 
require new equipment American actually buys it for the airport and leases it 
to other airlines.  The government does not want to spend on that.  That is 
one of the reasons why it is hard for others to enter to market.  The Haitian 
government and AA have been plotting against people for a long long time.  
There was recently a rumor that another major US airline was about to start 
working in Haiti and AA paid the someone in the Haitian government to block 
the deal.
Taxes in Haiti are everywhere and very high.  There is 10% Tax on Cell phone 
use.  There is 20% tax on internet service.  Any official transaction like 
getting a drivers license, buying or selling a car is heavily taxed.  It is 
very hard to Magouille your way out of it too.  The Direction Generale des 
Impots is very well organized and computerized to make sure you pay.  It may 
look like chaos from the outside but you can do nothing that involves the 
gov't without your NIF (numero d'identification fiscal) just like your SS # 
in the US.  If you have that Number, they will find you in their computers 
and know exactly how long you haven't paid your taxes for.  In addition peop
le who practice a profession in Haiti need to pay their PATENT.  Which is 
another yearly tax to permit you to practice  and you must report your income 
tax.  If your accounting is no good they'll estimate it for you.  Everything 
that is imported is taxed.  Import tax is one of the major sources of income 
for the government.  Most of the price of gasoline (about 50 gdes a gallon) 
is tax .   The tax is more than the profit the gas station is allowed to 
make.  Most gas station make more money from the side business at the gas 
station (the food stores) than on the gas itself.  The show of force and of 
luxury that government officials display tells you that money should not be 
an issue.  The cost of one Nissan Patrol is more than the cost of paying a 
staff of 50 teachers ( one public school teacher earns about U$1000/year) for 
a school for a whole year.    The priorities are clear:  stay in power at any 
cost because nothing else counts so show how great you are with great big 
cars and great big guns. Let the people pay for those.