本文音频及原文摘自杂志The Economist 2016年第43期，The Americas版块。

Informality in Latin America

The high cost of joining the formal sector

Oct 22nd 2016

MORE than half of all workers in Latin America are employed off the books[1] in the informal economy[非正规经济;地下经济]. That share has barely fallen since 2003. Informal workers are excluded from[排除在外] safety-net programmes[社会保障/安全保障网] such as pension plans[养老金/退休金计划], unemployment insurance[失业保险] and some public-health services[公共卫生服务(医保)].

A recent report* shows one reason why workers remain in the shadows: the cost of formality is too high (see chart). A large share of employees—from at least 20% in Bolivia[玻利维亚] to at least 80% in Honduras[洪都拉斯]—earn wages that are below their country’s statutory minimum[法定最低(工资)限度]. Social-security contributions[社会保障税], if low-wage workers paid them, would consume much of their incomes. For the poorest tenth, contributions owed by both employers and employees would average three-quarters of their wages (if those workers paid the amount levied[(levy)征收;征(税)] on formal employees earning the minimum wage). In five of the 18 countries covered by the report, that share would be more than 100%.

Latin American tax burdens are not excessive[过分;过度的] by rich-world standards. For workers earning average wages in the formal sector, the tax take[税收金额] is less than 22%. Income taxes begin to bite[2] only at the highest salaries. But for low-paid workers, especially those earning less than unrealistically high minimum wages, the cost of becoming formal is prohibitive[3].

Even workers who could afford to make social-security contributions are often reluctant to do so. Some doubt that state pension schemes[国家养老金/退休金计划] will be solvent[4] by the time they retire. Others are deterred[5] by the poor quality of public health-care programmes. The OECD[经济合作与发展组织(Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development)] would like the state to subsidise social-security payments by people who earn the minimum wage or less. That might induce some to join the formal economy. But formality is unlikely to become the norm if the benefits that go with it continue to be so poor.

*Clarification: An earlier version of this article attributed authorship of the report only to the OECD. It is by the OECD, the Inter-American Centre of Tax Administrations and the Inter-American Development Bank

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[1]off the books 不记录在案的，不记入账目的

Employers may offer potential employees the opportunity to work off the books, often by agreeing to pay the employee in cash. While on the front end this may seem appealing, agreeing to this type of payment arrangement can lead to a number of issues. Since the wages are not being reported as income and are not being taxed, those wages are not being credited into any national pension or social security system operated by a federal government. This will likely have an adverse affect on the amount of benefits that are received during the retirement years.

[2]bite

to have a bad or unpleasant effect 产生不良影响，起不良作用

Higher mortgage rates are beginning to bite.

较高的贷款利率现在开始出现不良后果了。

to show interest in buying something 对于买…感兴趣

The new service is now available but clients don't seem to be biting.

现在有了这种新服务，但客户好像不怎么感兴趣。

[3]prohibitive：If the cost of something is prohibitive, it is too expensive for most people. （费用）高得负担不起的，（价格等）使人望而却步的

Hotel prices in the major cities are high but not prohibitive.

大城市里的旅馆费用昂贵，但还能负担得起。

[4]solvent：(especially of companies) having enough money to pay all the money that is owed to other people （尤指公司）有偿付能力的，付得起的

Many insurance companies are under pressure to increase premiums to stay solvent.

很多保险公司面临压力，要增加保险费以保证偿付能力。

[5]deter：to prevent someone from doing something or to make someone less enthusiastic about doing something by making it difficult for that person to do it or by threatening bad results if they do it 阻挠，阻止；威慑；使不敢

These measures are designed to deter an enemy attack.

这些措施旨在阻止敌人的进攻。

High prices are deterring many young people from buying houses.

高昂的价格让很多年轻人对于买房望而却步。

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以上言论不代表本人立场。

原文摘自The economist，仅外语学习之用。

其中生词解释来源于Cambridge Dictionaries

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