Venezuelan utilities have hiked fees and the government plans to raise taxes, as the economy deteriorates further due to the spread of coronavirus and the crash in global oil prices adds to the strain on public coffers.
Businesses in the South American country have seen surprise increases in monthly bills for services like trash collection, electricity and telephones over the past month. Earlier this week the government announced a 2,900% increase in the unit used to calculate taxes.
Venezuela's annual tax collection has fallen below $2 billion, according to local consultancy Ecoanalitica. President Nicolas Maduro's socialist government last year relaxed price and exchange controls that had been in place for decades, and allowed transactions in foreign currency, to give the economy breathing room in the face of US sanctions aimed at ousting him from power.
Still, the push to raise additional funds for the government by charging more for public services and collecting more in taxes stands in stark contrast to the fiscal incentives implemented in countries like the United States and neighboring Colombia to keep their economies afloat in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
"The trash bill came out to 6 million bolivars, and I cannot pay that," said a small business owner in Caracas who spoke on condition of anonymity. That amounted to around $80, more than 20 times what the business had paid in January.
Venezuela, which has reported 36 coronavirus cases so far, has implemented a nationwide quarantine and restricted travel between states in an attempt to contain the outbreak. The hike in service fees adds another hurdle to businesses already expecting sales to fall due to the emergency.
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