Thursday, December 06, 2007

Bribery - A Tax on the Poor

More than one in 10 people has paid a bribe in the past 12 months, a survey by global anti-corruption body Transparency International has found. The report added that the world's poor were the hardest hit by bribery. The popular perception may be that bribes are paid by wealthy people to gain influence and oil the wheels of power, but they are mostly paid by poor people to ensure they get basic public services.

"Extortion hits low-income households with a regressive tax that saps scarce household resources," the report said .

In Africa, 42% of people paid a bribe to obtain a service .

WHO PAYS THE MOST BRIBES
Cameroon - 79%
Cambodia - 72%
Albania - 71%
Kosovo - 67%
FYR Macedonia - 44%
Pakistan - 44%
Nigeria - 40%
Senegal - 38%
Romania - 33%
Philippines - 32%
[ Percentage of people who paid a bribe in the past 12 months ]

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