NewsWhore
06-10-2010, 04:00 PM
Speaking at a luncheon meeting hosted by Hoy newspaper yesterday, National Business Council president Lisandro Macarrulla Tavares said that the government needed to foster a reduction in production costs in the DR if Dominican manufacturers are going to be able to compete. He said that it is too expensive to produce and live here. He said this is partly because of the high costs of power and ground transport. He also believes that government fiscal policies should not limit productive sectors, but stimulate them. He criticized the 1% tax on assets that companies need to pay, even when they make losses. He said that measure was correct when tax evasion was the norm, but he says the new efficiency of the tax system makes this redundant. He also reiterated the need to improve the quality of education to increase competitiveness. He said that improving the quality of education needed to be a national plan, not a government plan.
Macarrulla said that Central American countries have practically run over the DR in competitiveness and gaining international markets in the areas of pharmaceuticals and farming. He said the DR has a deficit in relations with the DR-CAFTA countries and that this translates into fewer jobs. "Every time that an imported product enters, it replaces a local product, and that means fewer jobs. And what's worse, small and medium-sized companies that make up 80% of the labor force are the most vulnerable because they cannot afford to invest in the latest technologies, he said.
"Even if we support the government offering social assistance, this should be a transitory or partial compensation. No country can develop on that basis. It needs dignified jobs for people who pay taxes," he said.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)
Macarrulla said that Central American countries have practically run over the DR in competitiveness and gaining international markets in the areas of pharmaceuticals and farming. He said the DR has a deficit in relations with the DR-CAFTA countries and that this translates into fewer jobs. "Every time that an imported product enters, it replaces a local product, and that means fewer jobs. And what's worse, small and medium-sized companies that make up 80% of the labor force are the most vulnerable because they cannot afford to invest in the latest technologies, he said.
"Even if we support the government offering social assistance, this should be a transitory or partial compensation. No country can develop on that basis. It needs dignified jobs for people who pay taxes," he said.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#5)