The business sector indicates that the country is going through a deep fiscal, economic, social, institutional and public security crisis.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
From a statement issued by the National Association of Private Enterprise (ANEP):
The business sector agrees with the feeling of the population expressed in surveys and different areas of opinion regarding the fact that the country is going through a deep fiscal, economic, social, institutional and insecurity crisis.
National problems can be summarized in four sentences:
1 The country is at risk of entering economic recession
2. Public safety has got out of government control
3. There are fewer jobs and more poor people
4. Public services are increasingly deficient
Given this reality, rather than listing the many problems faced daily by Salvadorans, the private sector is once again proposing concrete solutions:
1 Reforms to remove barriers and bureaucracy which hinder productive activity in order to revive the economy and create jobs. (6 new laws and 18 reforms).
2. Strengthen respect for the Constitutional rule of law and to give confidence and certainty for citizens and investors. (1 new law reforms and 10 constitutional points).
3. A genuine security policy to reduce impunity and improve the prosecution of crime in favor of victims, so that Salvadorans can live in peace. (20 specific actions).
The implementation of these reforms would allow the economy to grow annually at rate of at least 3% per year, 25,000 new jobs would generated each year and would rise creating additional tax revenues of about $250 million.
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Despite widespread opposition from all productive sectors in the country, President Solis has lifted the ban on reforms to the law on labor procedures imposed by the previous administration.
From a statement issued by the Costa Rican Union of Chambers and Associations of Private Business Sector (UCCAEP):
The productive private sector is signalling a lack of dialogue and clarity as well as conflicting messages from the authorities of the new Costa Rican government, which is also proposing laws that discourage investment.
An increase of more than 4% in the salaries of public officials, lack of action over lowering the cost of energy, lifting barriers which generate legal uncertainty, and initiatives to increase the tax burden on the formal productive sectors are the issues concerning entrepreneurs in Costa Rica.
The private sector has proposed creating development zones with specific tax laws and tax free status in order to encourage local and foreign investment.
Following a concept created by economist Paul Romer and implemented in cities such as Hong Kong, and proposed in Honduras through the passage of a law last year, Salvadoran businessmen are proposing 29 law reforms in order to create development zones which have their own laws to enhance the competitiveness of companies located within them.
One of the reasons for the poor performance of the Salvadoran economy is the uncertainty about political behavior at every election.
This was stated by Director of Economic and Social Affairs of the National Association of Private Enterprise (ANEP), Waldo Jimenez, who added that "...