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Ecuador says that devaluations in Colombian and Peruvian currency, coupled with dropping oil prices and a strong U.S. dollar, mandate increased taxes on imports from those nations to maintain trade equality. Ecuador’s Committee on Foreign Trade (Comex) ordered the tax...
Ecuador will trim $1.4 billion from its 2015 budget to compensate for the loss of oil revenue, the country’s Finance Ministry announced Monday. The reduction represents about 4% of the country’s $35 billion annual budget. Finance Minister Fausto Herrera says that the...
By Sylvan Hardy Since 2011, Ecuador has spent a greater percentage of its GDP on infrastructure and social programs than any country in the western hemisphere. Although it may maintain that distinction in 2015 since it holds a huge advantage over second-place Canada,...
By Jim Wyss On Calle Ocho in Quito’s La Florida neighborhood, a few dozen Cubans mill around, downing tar-thick espresso and explaining to curious locals how to cook malanga. But the snow-capped volcano peeking through the clouds dispels notions that this scene is...
Only days after final debate in the National Assembly, a new law that imposes a 100% special usage tax on gas appliances and eliminates the VAT tax on electric stoves and cooktops, becomes effective January 1. Ecuadorian business organizations say it is another...
Ecuador’s Central Bank began opening customer accounts on Christmas Eve for its new electronic money transaction system. The bank said that that the system will begin offering banking services, via cell phone, in mid-February and will begin accepting payment for...
Telecom giants Claro and DirecTV are complaining about new rules that will take a bite out of their income. Ecuador’s National Assembly has passed and sent to President Rafael Correa a telecommunications act that would tax income based on market share and would change...
Ecuador’s appliance manufacturers say they have been “ambushed” by provision in new legislation that would levy a 100% tax on gas stoves and hot water heaters. The tax was added shortly before the final vote on the Production Incentives and Tax Fraud Prevention law....
Under growing budgetary pressure, Ecuador’s National Assembly is proposing a 100% tax on the purchase of gas-burning appliances, including stoves and hot water heaters. The tax is part of legislation intended to produce $200 million in income for the government. The...
According to several constructions workers at the Coca Codo Sinclair hydro-electric plant east of Quito, employees have been warned by project managers not to discuss last weekend’s deadly cave-in on the site with the media. The 1,500 megawatt plant is scheduled to...
Cuenca municipal police and national transit police continue to chalk up arrests for drinking in public and driving under the influence. Since the new city ordinance outlawing drinking in public places went into effect three weeks ago, municipal police report making...
Following up on earlier warnings that Ecuador will need to reduce its national budget, the administration of President Rafael Correa has ordered government ministries to prepare for tough times. The administration says the cuts will amount to $1.5 billion. It also...
The director of Ecuador’s Internal Revenue Service (SRI), Ximena Amorosos says that amendments to the Production Incentives and Tax Fraud Prevention law will save the country $200 million a year. According to Amorosos, the savings will come primarily from ending tax...
Crude’s slump to five-year lows means OPEC member Ecuador is facing the choice of spending cuts that risk crimping growth or taking on more debt to finance outlays, Jefferies LLC said. President Rafael Correa, who predicts that oil prices will rebound by mid-2015, has...
As the first of eight new hydroelectric plants began operations last week north of Quito, the country’s plan to convert energy use away from LP gas and to electricity appears to further behind schedule than ever. On Wednesday, Ecuador’s Electricity Minister, Esteban...
By Jonathan Watts Ecuador plans to drill for oil in the Yasuni Amazon reserve, as president Rafael Correa seeks to exploit his country’s resources, in part to pay off debts owed to China. The body of an indigenous leader who was opposed to a major mining project in...
Saying that the system that provides tax refunds to residents over the age of 65 has been abused, the government said Wednesday it plans to reduce the number of deductible items. The new rules will only affect value added tax (VAT) refunds, not those for real estate,...
Speaking at the inauguration of the new South American Nations Union (UNASUR) headquarters in Quito, President Rafael Correa again pushed for the establishment of a common currency. Correa has voiced support for a new currency since he took office seven years ago....
A group of Ecuadorian environmental activists travelling to the UN Climate Change conference in neighbouring Peru were stopped and harassed at least six times by police who eventually seized their bus, members of the group have told the Guardian. The activists claim...
Ecuador’s social security health care system has revised its procedures to lower costs and eliminate what it says have been abuses of its services. The major change, according to social security system director (IESS) Hugo Villacrés is the reduction in referrals to...
