NewsWhore
09-07-2009, 05:10 PM
The government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) team want to conclude a new Stand-by arrangement by the end of this week. The ongoing talks center round how to improve tax collections, given that the government feels it would be politically unacceptable to raise taxes.
The IMF mission that arrived last week is made up of Alejandro Santos, head of mission and head of the Caribbean and Latin American Division of the Western Hemisphere Department of the IMF, and Mario Dehesa-Davila, Mariano Cortes, Kenji Hosono, Ali M. Alichi and Geoffrey J. Bannister, all economists from the department.
They are meeting with Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa and Planning, Economy and Development Minister Temistocles Montas.
During last week's meeting, Bengoa emphasized that the country is asking the IMF for financing to cover this year's budget. Bengoa attributed the deficit to a shortfall in income. He said that the government was expecting a RD$21 billion gap between budgeted income and collections by year's end.
The IMF team acknowledged that the situation was complicated by the slow-down in economic activity.
Montas told El Nuevo Diario reporters that the IMF could provide up to US$1.22 billion in quick disbursements. Of this money, US$500 million would come from the World Bank and another US$500 million would come from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The US$225 million would be funds that the IDB puts at the disposal of the Central Bank. In the opinion of one expert, former Central Bank governor Guillermo Caram, the funds from an IMF agreement would be enough to reactivate the local economy and eliminate the need to issue sovereign bonds.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)
The IMF mission that arrived last week is made up of Alejandro Santos, head of mission and head of the Caribbean and Latin American Division of the Western Hemisphere Department of the IMF, and Mario Dehesa-Davila, Mariano Cortes, Kenji Hosono, Ali M. Alichi and Geoffrey J. Bannister, all economists from the department.
They are meeting with Hacienda Minister Vicente Bengoa and Planning, Economy and Development Minister Temistocles Montas.
During last week's meeting, Bengoa emphasized that the country is asking the IMF for financing to cover this year's budget. Bengoa attributed the deficit to a shortfall in income. He said that the government was expecting a RD$21 billion gap between budgeted income and collections by year's end.
The IMF team acknowledged that the situation was complicated by the slow-down in economic activity.
Montas told El Nuevo Diario reporters that the IMF could provide up to US$1.22 billion in quick disbursements. Of this money, US$500 million would come from the World Bank and another US$500 million would come from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The US$225 million would be funds that the IDB puts at the disposal of the Central Bank. In the opinion of one expert, former Central Bank governor Guillermo Caram, the funds from an IMF agreement would be enough to reactivate the local economy and eliminate the need to issue sovereign bonds.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)