Monday, in the second part of the "Monday of the Press", Stéphanie Auguste, Minister of Haitians Living Abroad (MHAVE) in the presence of the Minister of the Economy and Finance, Jude Alix Patrick wanted to calm the tension and to deny the false information circulating in the diaspora concerning the payment by all Haitians abroad of 186 US dollars and to clarify the question of the flat-rate income tax of 10,000 gourdes included in the draft budget for 2017-2018.

"There is no question of paying 186 dollars on arrival in Haiti, neither to the Consulates nor to the Embassies of Haiti for the request of a public service," declared firmly the Minister "The question of the income tax does not refer particularly to the diaspora, it concerns all Haitian Or any national of other countries undertaking transactions in Haiti that involve income (importing goods, selling land, buying / selling a vehicle, or claiming the issuance of a passport, etc...) the Minister continued before to invite his colleague from the Ministry of the Economy to intervene.

Minister Solomon clarified the issue of 10,000 gourdes and provided general information on income tax. According to the Minister, citizens whose annual income is less than 60,000 gourdes are not subject to the payment of this tax. However, it is necessary to present the certificate of filing of final declaration to conclude certain transactions. Any citizen not in a position to present it, at the time of a transaction or a public service which requires this document, will have to pay the lump sum of 10,000 gourdes, as provided for in the draft budget for 2017-2018. It would therefore be in the interest of citizens to make their final tax return annually at the prescribed time, advises the Minister, a practice designed to encourage tax compliance.

HL/ HaiLibre