Soberón claimed that the US embargo laws (Helms Burton and Torricelli) had deterred foreign investment from the country and discouraged banks from lending. He claimed that this lack of finance meant that the country could not exploit its rich resources of human capital.
Soberón maintained that the US government was going further than the provisions of the Helms-Burton and Torricelli laws. He said that it was now common for foreign businessmen doing business in Cuba to get threatening calls from US government officials. He added that threats from the State Department against any company or government interested in doing even the smallest business with Cuba were common.
The government claims that it received US$500m in tax revenues in the first nine months of the year. The Oficina Nacional de Administración Tributaria reported that tax revenues in the first nine months were up 11% on the same period of 2002, at 12.75bn pesos (US$490m at the rate quoted by exchange booths).
The taxman claims that the increase in the tax take is due to a clampdown on evasion and trying to ensure that payers meet their obligations promptly.
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