Private workers and non-agricultural cooperatives contribute relatively liittle to the State Budget, but in 2014, they exceeded expectations of the Ministry of Finances and Prices. By paying 2.084 billion pesos the so-called non-state managing forms paid the government coffers 29 percent more in taxes than the previous year.
They are an expression of the growing participation of these new economic actors in the national economy, said Lina Pedraza, Minister of Finances and Prices in her report on revenues to the National Assembly of the Peoples Power
At the time of paying taxes, and different from the entrepreneurial sector, the private sector that operates in Cuban convertible pesos or foreign currency must change them at the Casas de Cambio (CADECA) at a 24 to 1 rate. Therefore, it is possible to calculate their contribution in US dollars, a different scenario from other contributors to the Budget, who fall under the distortions of the dual currency.
Revenues of the private sector grew despite their numbers not exceeding the half a million. By December, there were 476 thousand self-employed Cubans, 33 thousand more than the previous year. Cuban Economy Minister Marino Murrillo described as favorable the incorporation of more people to this sector, while the government reduces its bloated payrolls.
In 2015, the contribution of the private sector could be bigger. One of the reiterated issues in the recent Assembly were the losses caused by tax evasion, something tackled by lawmakers and ministers. In the latest meeting of the Council of Ministers, new measures were announced t stop this practice.
