Haiti's new income tax schedule, in force since October 1, raises the tax-free threshold from 60,000 to 360,000 gourdes a year, easing the burden mainly on low-wage workers, Le Nouvelliste reported on Monday, October 26.

The change comes from a decree amending the tax code, published by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in the official gazette Le Moniteur. Article 132 of the decree sets the new exemption threshold.

The previous schedule dated from October 2005 and had become largely outdated after years of sharp increases in the cost of living, the newspaper's economics writer, Thomas Lalime, noted.