barriomulas.com - Venezuela News

Seven South American countries will create a new development bank. Following a meeting in Brazil, finance ministers said the Bank of the South would play a "central role in the new financial architecture of the region". The bank will have its headquarters in Venezuela, the country that originated the idea. BBC

Wonderful. A regional, continental bank would be a wonderful alternative to the IMF.

CARACAS, Venezuela: President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Venezuela is considering rejoining the Andean Community because leftist leaders in Bolivia and Ecuador who have resisted free trade deals with the United States could help to transform the regional economic bloc.

Chavez, who pulled Venezuela out of the five-nation bloc in 2006 after Peru and Colombia signed trade pacts with Washington, said on his weekly broadcast program that he was studying "the possible path toward a new Andean Community." AP

Amen. I actually opposed Venezuela leaving from the start. I rather have one leftist member than none.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said he was looking at several ways to find more resources, including the creation of new taxes. Such a move would be aimed at encumbering "excess expenses."

Chávez announced the likely tax on expenses during his radio and television show Aló, Presidente (Hello, President). He underscored that his administration was reviewing the background to determine the rate of the tax to be levied on excess expenses.

According to Chávez both individuals and legal persons "spend and spend." The he said that the tax on expenses is levied both in the capitalism and in communism. El Universal

I'm all for such types of taxes, but I think they should be tied into something more than the products costs. For example; I'm all for luxory car taxes considering the fact that most luxory cars take up more space and deteriorate public roads quicker than smaller compact cars.