Big business failing to pay taxes in El Salvador

This week El Salvador's Ministry of the Treasury issued a first of its kind report listing the corporations and the persons owing the greatest amounts in back taxes to the Salvadoran government. ContraPunto summarized what the report revealed:
Well known businesses in electric power, banks, telephone companies, insurance companies, drug stores, department stores, and airlines among others are among those who owe taxes to the government according to the list published by the Ministry of the Treasury. 
On the list you can find big businesses like CAESS [power utility], Citi Bank, Azteca bank, Santa Lucia drug stores, Telemovil, Digicel, TACA [airline], Siman [department stores], Channel 2, and other companies and individuals totaling 12,519 taxpayers who owe the state more than $372.6 million.

Publication of the list led many civil society groups to note that it would be much easier for El Salvador's government to make the investments to reduce crime which business interests desire, if those same business would pay the taxes they owe.

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