| Subject: U.N.
looks to begin taxing imports into E. Timor
Japan Economic Newswire Sunday, November 28, 1999 U.N. looks to begin taxing imports into E. Timor DILI, East Timor, Kyodo The U.N. administration in East Timor plans to set up a customs service with Australia's help that will tax imports to raise funds for the country-in-the-making, the top U.N. representative in the territory said Sunday. Sergio Vieira de Mello, speaking to reporters after talks with visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard, said he asked Australia 'to help us establish a customs and immigration service in East Timor.' 'He promised Australia would help us,' de Mello said. The local U.N. chief called raising budget resources a 'top priority' for the former Portuguese colony, which was occupied by Indonesia for 24 years before its people were given a chance to vote for their independence Aug. 30. He said an immigration service, meanwhile, was urgently needed to control the entry and exit of people, in the interest of security. A World Bank mission that visited East Timor earlier this month identified setting up a taxation and customs structure for non-humanitarian goods and services as among a number of key areas requiring immediate action to prepare East Timor to be an economically self-sufficient country in the medium term. The U.N. will administer East Timor until it gains full independence in two to three years. Public revenues were extremely low even before the Aug. 30 ballot, when East Timor was heavily dependent on fiscal transfers from Indonesia to finance recurrent and development expenditures. World Bank officials stress that their levels in the future will depend on developing an appropriate tax collection regime. In the absence of a customs service, a growing number of foreign businessmen, mostly from Australia, have been importing vehicles for sale and rental, along with a variety of untaxed equipment and commodities. Most are catering to the huge influx of U.N. staff, nongovernmental organization personnel, soldiers, journalists and businessmen into East Timor since the Australia-led international force deployed here Sept. 20. Some economists have expressed fear the money being brought in by foreigners will artificially inflate the East Timorese economy so that when the foreigners leave they will take their money with them and the local economy will drop. The World Bank officials say East Timor, having no banks or system of payments anymore, also urgently needs to establish a workable financial system to serve as an engine for recovery and growth. Back to November Menu Note: For those who would like to fax "the powers that be" - CallCenter V3.5.8, is a Native 32-bit Voice Telephony software application integrated with fax and data communications... and it's free of charge! Download from http://www.v3inc.com/ |