Cubavirtual.net

In order to encourage private enterprises, Cuba has announced a moratorium on payroll  taxes for small business owners and increased the limits on the size of private restaurants. Under the new guidelines, anyone who hires between one and five workers will not be subject to payroll taxes during 2011.

These measures were adopted at a recent Cabinet meeting chaired by President Raul Castro and it  applies to all small business owners, especially private restaurants and cafes that employ waiters and cooks. Many stylish restaurants have opened in Cuban cities like Havana  since the government began overhauling the economy last year. The liberalized procedures have enabled over 222,000 Cubans  to work for themselves.

Authorities are also finding out whether state-controled real estate could be put to better use by renting it out to private restaurant owners, which could attract more private investors. Though Cuba's Communist government still employs about four in five Cuban workers, and the state controls virtually all means of production, Cuba is opening up to business ideas and private participation in reshaping its economy.