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> I happily gave the guy a fee and was on my way the rest of your text makes it abundantly clear that it was a bribe, so why call it a fee? Unless you got an o

• syops 6y ago
  The style of writing indicates to me at least that OP was not writing to be technically precise to this level. Since it is abundantly clear to you that the payment was a bribe then isn’t the natural conclusion that it was a bribe and that “fee” was used to convey the idea that there was a cost involved that couldn’t be avoided?
  • nickkell 6y ago
    I don't think it's about being pedantic, but rather the idea of using something like a euphemism to lessen the impact of the act. If the OP had used quotes, like you yourself did, this would have made it obvious that they recognised it's a bribe in all but name. It's important to remember that this site is international and not every linguistic nuance is intentional.
• NovemberWhiskey 6y ago
  I think there's a real difference between a "facilitation payment" and a "bribe". In each case, the official intends to use their position for personal benefit - and yes that is clearly problematic - but in the former case, the payer has no corrupt intent.
  • prepend 6y ago
    > payer has no corrupt intent. It’s just the scale. A “facilitation payment” is a small bribe. The payer of any bribe is participating in a corrupt system. Paying $1 to get your passport stamped is small, but it still is bad. Think of all the poor people who don’t have $1 and get hosed by this.
    • NovemberWhiskey 6y ago
      No, it's really not the scale - it's about intent. $100 to a customs officer to avoid being held up for a day when you've done nothing wrong is totally different from $100 to a customs officer to overlook unpaid duties on a suitcase full of goods.
      • prepend 6y ago
        Good point, intent is important. But both of your examples are bribes.
    • dageshi 6y ago
      It's a form of direct taxation. In most of these countries officials literally officially get paid $50 a month as their salary. But their position allows them to directly "tax" people in the ways being described here. Their boss and their bosses boss will probably be in on it and be receiving a cut.
      • rob74 6y ago
        Ok, if it's already calculated into the officials' salaries (the same way as waiters get paid less, because they get tips from customers), then they should at least give you a receipt for this "tax payment"...
        • dageshi 6y ago
          Genuine question, because I'm not from the USA, do people get receipts for their tips?
  • MereInterest 6y ago
    I'm confused. Calling it a "facilitation payment" feels like a subcategory of bribes to me, and would be a form of corruption. Can you explain why you would see "facilitation payments" as not being corrupt?
    • NovemberWhiskey 6y ago
      A facilitation payment is a payment made to an official to do their job. Real personal example: I'm trying to register my newly-purchased car with the RTO (c.f. DMV) in Bangalore. I have all the paperwork I need. The car is mine, my address details are correct, my proofs of address are sufficient, my fee is paid. Only there are continual requests for more paperwork: different proofs of address, proofs of prior addresses in other countries, proofs that are officially stamped etc etc none of which are formally necessary. On the advice of the car dealer, I paid INR 4,000 in facilitation money and suddenly the paperwork is in order and my car is registered. The official's intent is to extort me for money, but my intent is just to comply with the law that requires my car to be registered. I'm willing and able to provide all the required paperwork. My intent is not corrupt. If I was trying to register a car that was stolen, and I was paying the RTO official to overlook the inadequacies in my documentation, that would be a bribe. My intent is to pay the official not to do their job.
      • spookthesunset 6y ago
        Ha. That still sounds sketchy. It would be like going to a DMV in the states to get your license and slipping a $20 to person who gives your driving test to get out of parallel parking or something.... It’s not bribing your way out of a crime or something but it is still dodgy and corrupt.
        • NovemberWhiskey 6y ago
          If you're paying someone $20 to get out of parallel parking in your driving test; that's a bribe. If you're paying someone $20 to pass your driving test after you performed a perfect parallel parking maneuver but they baselessly claimed you were "too far from the curb"; that's a facilitation payment.
• stef25 6y ago
  You're right. It just doesn't seem right to use the same word for both 10$ that saves you hours of tedium and a suitcase with a hundred grand to get a building permit. There's also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baksheesh https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baksheesh When I have to get my passport renewed it's possible to pay a higher fee to get it done quicker. The difference is it ends up in the state coffers vs in some official's pocket. But in the end it's just to jump the queue, same thing.
  • rob74 6y ago
    Well yeah, there are smaller and larger bribes... OTOH "Baksheesh" for me is more like a tip that you would give to a waiter in a restaurant, which is the mildest form of corruption possible (if it can even be called that). A fee to get your passport quicker isn't the same as a bribe for me - after all, you can also pay extra to get a better seat on a flight, better service and be able to board sooner, would you consider that bribing the airline? Whereas paying someone at the gate to upgrade you to business class would be bribery...