HAVANA, Cuba – Cuban President Raul Castro closed the first of two regular annual sessions of Parliament by reporting a 2.1% growth in Cuba’s economy in the first half of the year.
Cuban Minister of Economy and Planning Adel Yzquierdo said the result can be seen as a favorable performance despite better growth expectations particularly in the education sector.
The National Assembly of Popular Power on Monday also approved new laws that are expected to replace Law No. 73 in the 1994 Taxation System guideline, according to official media.
The Minister of Finance and Prices Lina Pedraza introduced draft legislation, official reports added. The foreign press lacked access to the session.
The Act will provide the state with an important instrument of economic policy to secure revenue and keep a stable budget, legislative sources said.
The new law is also expected to stimulate sectors and activities that contribute to socio-economic development of the country and discourage those who are against it.
It was also announced during the plenary session that Cuba reduced its fiscal deficit in 2011 to 1.7% and increased the number of employed persons (private) to 390,000.
The plenary also approved the election of Ana Maria Mari Machado as vice president of Parliament through secret balloting, officially replacing Jaime Crombet who has recently resigned from the Parliament due to health problems.
