NewsWhore
05-13-2008, 05:30 PM
The president of the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD), Manuel Diez Cabral is calling on the government to control what he describes as "disproportionate" spending. He told El Caribe that government spending was up 35% in the first three months of the year, compared to last year's figures. Business leaders are concerned that the government could resort to increasing taxes in order to keep up the spending. "The country cannot sustain this spending, more taxes and the increases in the cost of food products, and fuel," said Diez Cabral.
Meanwhile, Circe Almanzar, executive vice president of AIRD, recalled that a study of the government payroll and ways to reduce this was carried out in 2003, when it was determined there were around 300,000 public employees. She expressed concern about the President's recent announcement that the government has 400,000 people on its payroll, without including employees of decentralized government departments. She commented that during that period the national budget went from RD$60 billion to RD$300 billion, four years later.
Almanzar said that taxes affected all sectors, and cannot be sustained. "If you are going to export and you want to promote an export culture, do not burden these industries with taxes on exports or their assets. Promote it with conditions equal to those of their competitors in Central America", she urged.
Almanzar said that the agreement with the IMF would have been needed earlier in the year when it would have been useful to control the excessive government spending into the presidential election.
She said that Dominican leaders are motivating consumption and not production in the country. "It is easier to get a loan for a car than to produce or purchase machinery," she commented.
Diez speculated that the government could be considering a new fiscal reform, and remarked that the previous fiscal reform had not worked. He mentioned that several companies had seen a collapse in sales, such as beer and liquors and an increase in lower costing imports was stimulated with an increase in the trade deficit.
Almanzar urged a need to nationwide promote a work ethic. She said that many Dominicans receive remittances, do not go to work, and just spend the money they receive on consumer goods. "We have lots of informal trade, but that commerce is not helping our development," she commented.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)
Meanwhile, Circe Almanzar, executive vice president of AIRD, recalled that a study of the government payroll and ways to reduce this was carried out in 2003, when it was determined there were around 300,000 public employees. She expressed concern about the President's recent announcement that the government has 400,000 people on its payroll, without including employees of decentralized government departments. She commented that during that period the national budget went from RD$60 billion to RD$300 billion, four years later.
Almanzar said that taxes affected all sectors, and cannot be sustained. "If you are going to export and you want to promote an export culture, do not burden these industries with taxes on exports or their assets. Promote it with conditions equal to those of their competitors in Central America", she urged.
Almanzar said that the agreement with the IMF would have been needed earlier in the year when it would have been useful to control the excessive government spending into the presidential election.
She said that Dominican leaders are motivating consumption and not production in the country. "It is easier to get a loan for a car than to produce or purchase machinery," she commented.
Diez speculated that the government could be considering a new fiscal reform, and remarked that the previous fiscal reform had not worked. He mentioned that several companies had seen a collapse in sales, such as beer and liquors and an increase in lower costing imports was stimulated with an increase in the trade deficit.
Almanzar urged a need to nationwide promote a work ethic. She said that many Dominicans receive remittances, do not go to work, and just spend the money they receive on consumer goods. "We have lots of informal trade, but that commerce is not helping our development," she commented.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)