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James Fidell wrote: > Clare Shepherd wrote: > >> Looks like the Nigerian Government has done the right thing. In a >> country were a common mindset, according to a friend, who was a >> lecturer there, is that if you can get something, just take it, it's >> understandable why the dealer took the bribe. Remember there's a lot >> of deprivation there, even if the country is rich in minerals etc. > > In many cases I think it's a case of not even being able to do business > *unless* you're prepared to bribe people. I know many companies working > in Africa and (particularly south-east) Asia actually have line items in > their project budgets specifically for the payment of bribes. > > James > To assist understanding of James's comment. As an former export salesman for very high value capital infrastructure goods from UK, I was extremely hindered in some areas, as while our budgets could include a line item for 'local culture expenses', a necessary expense in many areas, it was not tax deductible in UK, while my German competition could deduct it as a tax deductible expense as the German government(s) recognised the reality of business dealing in some foreign areas. M$ will list it as 'charity donation' to education and thus tax deductible in their USA accounts. Regards Eion MacDonald (eionmac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx) -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html