Cuban government closes 15 MSMEs over accounting irregularities

He The Cuban government has closed 15 micro, small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) this year Alleged irregularities in accounting.

Judith Navarro Ricardo, a legal expert at the Office of National Tax Administration (ONAT), found an accounting malpractice such as buying equipment as direct costs instead of inventory, artificially reducing the company's profits.

There are also problems with controls on primary records such as financial statements, which are in many cases unavailable or hidden.

After Navarro Ricardo verified these facts, a temporary or permanent closure was ordered, depending on the degree of non-compliance.

“At the end of May, 15 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are in this position due to irregularities in accounting. Some of these cases lead to tax evasion offences,” he said. CubePad.

“The MSME has not maintained its accounts properly and, in addition, has not paid its tax obligations properly, manifesting evasion intent, so we have the right to pursue the complaint,” he asserted.

Recently, in an audit carried out at an MSME in Havana, auditors reviewed the labor employment tax, which is calculated based on the total wages paid to employees, using a tax rate of 5%.

Incentives given to MSME workers are not included in the calculation. After establishing the amount of the debt, the business owner was charged additional fees and fines, although it was concluded that the non-compliance was not intentional, but a misinterpretation of the rules.

ONAT identified the main practices or types of evasion in Cuba: reporting and paying below the actual income received, avoiding income received outside the country for business activities, and using persons who are not the true owners to hide the existence of multiple businesses. .

The government boasts of intensifying its control measures, but audit experts confirm that it is not known how much money is leaving public coffers due to tax evasion.

Belquiz Pino Hernández, First Vice-President of ONAT, has registered 210 complaints of alleged tax evasion between the end of 2023 and May 2024: 207 from natural persons and three from legal entities.

In total, 30 files have been filed for payment of debt, 117 cases have been filed and about 63 cases are pending.

“We are still dissatisfied, above all, we have to be very active when working on these procedures, because there are only six cases of final sentences: two in Ciego de Ávila, two in Camagüey, one in Santiago de Cuba and another. in Holguin,” he explained.