SRI (IRS in Ecuador)
If you are a law abiding residente de Ecuador, but want to minimize income taxes, there is a solution for you!
A RUC or Registro Unico de Contribuyentes registers you for business without a trip to Quito. If you earn under $10,000 a year, you pay no income tax to Ecuador. And you qualify for the Rise ("re-say"), or small potatoes personal business registration.
Our monthly taxes of $3.50 must be paid at any bank. We simply provide our 13 digit Rise number and make the payment. Best of all, there are no tax forms to be filed. Can there be anything that simple from the government? Imagine that in USA or Canada!
We are teaching English part time, so our friends at Arco Language Institute walked us through the process. We visited the SRI (think IRS) on Remigio Crespo Avenue, waited in a short line to "take a number" and took a seat. Shortly later, we were beeped to line 17, where an attractive and efficient young lady assisted us. We provided color copies (and displayed originals) of our passport, Cedula and Censo. No cash needed.
The only delay was for our electric bill to prove we were living here. Oops, we had to make a separate trip to get a factura of our paid bill at the Max Uhle utility office. Since our gas and water bills are paid with our apartment dues, nothing else would do!
So now we can bill you for our services, but only in small amounts! Don't ask us for free English lessons ... we may be tempted.
