An Icelandic Concept for Sure
A post June 28, 2013 Icelandic Review said that illegal work was on the increase in Iceland. Cash rather than electronic payments is on the rise. In Iceland it is called black work. You get paid cash and their is no record of the transaction, no income tax is withheld.
In a country of about 300,000, where there are pretty good statistics about what is happening economically it is said in the article that labor unions, employer groups, and the Icelandic IRS are working to reverse the trend. Tourism and other indicators are up, but its not being reflected in tax receipts.
Forty years in Miami have made me aware of a significant black market in labor where people are paid in cash and you might be quoted two prices, cash or some other means and where stuff is sold and no sales tax is collected. Day laborers from Home Depot or babysitting and maybe even gypsy cab or jitney rides that compete with public transit and tax collection suffers.
One thing for sure is that in the USA we can't stand intrusive government on either side of the equation, both collecting revenue and paying for stuff we want is given short shrift and we all end up dancing in the dark.
I wonder if the Icelandic establishment is actually doing something about the situation or just catching up with the wide west nature of modern capitalism. I can hear the arguments on all sides ringing in my ears about the joys of growth in the economy, the need to collect revenue to pay for social services, and the evil of an increasingly intrusive government that will kill the goose that is laying the golden eggs and making things better for all in Iceland.
In a country of about 300,000, where there are pretty good statistics about what is happening economically it is said in the article that labor unions, employer groups, and the Icelandic IRS are working to reverse the trend. Tourism and other indicators are up, but its not being reflected in tax receipts.
Forty years in Miami have made me aware of a significant black market in labor where people are paid in cash and you might be quoted two prices, cash or some other means and where stuff is sold and no sales tax is collected. Day laborers from Home Depot or babysitting and maybe even gypsy cab or jitney rides that compete with public transit and tax collection suffers.
One thing for sure is that in the USA we can't stand intrusive government on either side of the equation, both collecting revenue and paying for stuff we want is given short shrift and we all end up dancing in the dark.
I wonder if the Icelandic establishment is actually doing something about the situation or just catching up with the wide west nature of modern capitalism. I can hear the arguments on all sides ringing in my ears about the joys of growth in the economy, the need to collect revenue to pay for social services, and the evil of an increasingly intrusive government that will kill the goose that is laying the golden eggs and making things better for all in Iceland.
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