VZCZCXRO6985
RR RUEHWEB
DE RUEHSP #0546/01 3361732
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 011732Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY PORT OF SPAIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9547
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT OF SPAIN 000546 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR, CA/VO/F/P CHERYL BODEK 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD PREL ECON CVIS TD
 
SUBJECT: A VIEW FROM THE TRENCHES: THE TRINIDAD ECONOMY AS REFLECTED 
IN VISA APPLICANTS 
 
REF: PORT OF SPAIN 195 
 
PORT OF SP 00000546  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: While not completely scientific, information 
provided in visa interviews opens a window on the local economy. 
Recognizing the limitations of such information, but also its worth, 
the Embassy conducted a study involving 218 randomly chosen visa 
applicants.  The data revealed income disparities and large informal 
and state economic sectors. END SUMMARY 
 
INCOME, INEQUALITY, BENEFITS OF HIGHER EDUCATION 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Survey data was derived from 218 randomly chosen visa 
applicants.  Data collected included gender, monthly income, 
household income, savings, employer, position, sector, housing 
status, and education level.  The labor sector breakdown of those in 
the survey (which perhaps not coincidently largely mirrors GOTT 
Central Statistical Office estimates) was: 
 
 -Clerical: 11% 
 -Services: 9% 
 -Security: 7% 
 -Financial: 7% 
 -Education: 6% 
 -Energy: 5% 
 -Transport: 5% 
 -Health: 4% 
 -Construction: 4% 
 -Real Estate: 3% 
 -Engineering: 3% 
 -Utilities: 2% 
 -Law: 2% 
 -Self Employed: 14% 
 -Retired: 18% 
 
Including companies in which the government invests and controls, 
either directly or indirectly, 47% of those sampled can be 
considered to work for the GOTT. 
 
¶3. (U) Median annual income across the sample was $17,988 (all 
figures in this cable are in USD), broadly consistent with published 
reports of T&T per capita GDP of around $16,000.  Men (43% of 
survey) earned an average of $23,412, while women (57% of survey) 
earned only $13,398.  Those with a bachelor's degree or higher 
comprised 21% of applicants and earned a median wage of $28,850. 
Seventy-two percent of applicants owned their own home, either via a 
conventional mortgage or through inheritance.  It is worth 
mentioning that 28% of the sample was denied visas; their median 
wage was $10,125. 
 
ENERGY SECTOR APPLICANTS GENERALLY WELL OFF 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) Not surprisingly, those in the energy sector enjoyed the 
highest median salaries.  Although only 5% of the population is 
directly employed in energy, the median income for that group of 
survey applicants was $25,935, over $8,000 more than the overall 
sample median.  Comments from persons in that sector, though, 
suggest a looming slowdown that may impact on future salary 
stability or growth. 
 
EDUCATION; DECLINING US STUDENT VISA NUMBERS 
-------------------------------------------- 
¶5. (U) The median wage for those with a bachelor's degree or higher 
in our study is over $10,000 more than the overall median wage of 
$17,988.  This makes manifest the value of higher education, a point 
apparently not lost on the GOTT.  One recent GOTT effort that is 
making a quantifiable impact on the society as a whole is the 
Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses (GATE) program.  Designed 
to provide an outlet to slow intellectual brain drain, GATE provides 
free tuition to qualified students at a variety of T&T based 
universities and training centers in exchange for a three year 
commitment from beneficiaries to work in the country after 
graduation rather than depart for opportunities abroad. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Though other factors may be involved, including concern 
over visa rejections, the impact of the program seems to have been 
immediate -- student visa numbers for U.S. study have declined 
between 5-10% a year over the past 3 years as more and more T&T 
students and parents choose the substantial financial benefits of 
free tuition.  In addition, as a result of GATE, higher education is 
now available to lower income families.  It should be noted, though, 
that some GOTT programs do exist to provide funding for education 
abroad (e.g., 170 students are in the U.S., and 95 in Canada, on 
government scholarships). 
 
PORT OF SP 00000546  002 OF 002 
 
 
 
SELF-MPLOYMENT, THE INFORMAL ECONOMY, TAX COMPLIANCE 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶7. (SBU) At 14%, the self-employed comprise the largest single 
segment of our study, with a median wage of $16,661, slightly less 
than the overall median.  The self-employed work in a variety of 
areas, but the sector is dominated by building contractors, food 
service vendors/caterers, small shop or market owners and clothing 
resellers. (NOTE: Self-employed accountants, architects, engineers 
and doctors, for the purposes of this study, were accounted for in 
their respective fields of expertise.) While some register their 
businesses with the GOTT, many seem to not report income accurately. 
 Those whose businesses are not registered or who do not pay taxes 
are included, by definition, in the informal economy. 
 
¶8. (SBU) In a conversation with an official from the GOTT Board of 
Inland Revenue (BIR), CONOFF inquired about tax compliance rates for 
small businesses.  The official indicated that tax compliance and 
accurate income reporting for the self-employed was largely 
non-existent and unenforceable from a resource perspective, 
mentioning that the BIR focused on large firms, multi-nationals, and 
larger family-owned concerns for revenue collection. 
 
AUSTIN