Are unregistered businesses ordinary in your country?

[pousinha]

Far from the capitals, in Latin America it's very common to open shops (even small clinics offering conservative treatments only) that stay unregistered forever. Usually, it happens because the owners haven't enough money to pay all the bureaucracy (nor accountants' fees, nor the Social Security) and they can't wait centuries to start to work (until receiving the government's green light, that can last one year, if not more, depending on the kind of business). Obviously, it's unthinkable in the capitals.

 

[eLdavis]

Yes there are businesses here as well that don't get registered for years, but they are till functioning and running.

 

[pousinha]

Here also go on functioning and running along dozens of years. Groceries, hairdressers and nail salons above all. They are lucky because inspections don't occur far from the capitals (at least, until now).

 

[Springtime]

It's difficult to know if a business is registered or not. If the owner just do business as usual, have a physical or online shop, we have no idea whether the business is registered.

 

[pousinha]

In Latin America, it's fairly easy to know when a business hasn't registered: if you see a grocery opened from a day to another, especially in the outskirts, no steps, no negotiations, well, it's an unregistered business...

 

[Starmix]

Businesses in my country big or small must be registered for tax purposes. Those who don't register their business will be reported and penalised. No one is above the law.

 

[pousinha]

I imagine in the Philippines it's easy for the R.S.I. to discover whether a business is registered or not. Not the same in Latin America, especially in the biggest country, where are reported only the unregistered businesses operating in the most developed capitals. Out of the most developed capitals, financial inspections don't occur.

 

[Starmix]

It is crucial in my country if someone operates a business, big or small, unregistered . It will bbe the neighbors to sue or report the person to the city mayor's office.

 

[pousinha]

In my current country, no neighbour would dare to report (depending on the quarter, it' even dangerous for their life, as a report would carry retaliations, a lot of times not from the businesses' owners, but the local criminal bands and the informer could be shot to death). No one knows when abject poverty will knock one's door at the point to be forced to an unregistered business without any other choice.