Cuba's new investment law to be investor-friendly

Cuba's new investment law will encourage foreign investment through tax cuts and facilitation measures, a Cuban lawmaker told Monday's official Granma daily. "It contains more bonuses and tax exemptions, and relaxes the customs regulations to encourage investment," said Jose Luis Toledo Santander, chief of the Legal Affairs Committee of the Cuban Parliament. The new legislation, which will be put to vote on March 29, also simplifies the process required to make an investment, he said. "The new law better targets foreign investment in line with the interests of Cuban national development." The new law will replace the current law on foreign investment which came into force in September 1995. Under the current law, foreign companies should pay a 30 percent income tax and a 20 percent labor tax, although the latter has been gradually reduced. Cuba has a "compelling need" to attract foreign investment, which helps boost economic and social development of the island, said Cuban President Raul Castro. Castro has carried out reforms to "upgrade" the socialist economic model since taking over from his brother, Fidel Castro, in 2008. Cuban authorities recently have opened some key sectors, such as sugar, tourism and oil, to foreign investment.