NewsWhore
08-02-2006, 05:10 PM
Former Central Bank governor and vice president of the PRSC, Luis Toral warned the government that more taxes is not the best way to resolve the Central Bank deficit. As reported in Clave Digital, he said that austerity, together with less lavish spending and less corruption would be more effective. Toral sent a press release to the press whereby he says that the government would be assaulting the middle class and the poor if it pretends to resolve the fiscal debt by increasing taxes, as proposed by Technical Minister of the Presidency, Temistocles Montas. "Less squandering, less corruption and more austerity is what is needed," he said in the press release. Toral is a Presidential pre-candidate for the PRSC. He said that the population has already paid too high a price for the economic crisis that resulted from the collapse of three commercial banks. He said the government could also use funds from the PetroCaribe agreement with Venezuela for that purpose.
Toral said that the government is spending RD$6 billion on deceitful propaganda, telling citizens that it is resolving the problems, when in reality that spending on propaganda is only making the problems worse.
He said that instead of confronting the Central Bank deficit, the government has increased it to the point where it has now reached RD$150 billion, much more than what it was on 16 August 2004 with the change of government.
He mentioned that the population thought that the two fiscal reforms bringing about an increase in taxes carried out by this government, which required major sacrifices from the population, were to meet that deficit. "And now the Technical Minister of the Presidency says they have to increase taxes to pay that debt," he reports. Toral criticized the fact that instead of dealing with the problem, the government has chosen to start building a metro, when all sectors told the government that given the magnitude of the economic crisis, a metro could not be a national priority.
Toral also criticized the fact that while the government announces its plans to impose more taxes, it delegates the collecting of its debts to a private company. "What is needed is the complete opposite", says Toral. "Reduce taxes, stop lavish spending and halt corruption".
He mentions that despite the crisis, the government announces a loan to equip the Police, at inflated prices, which the Technical Minister of the Presidency himself condemned. And while government spokesmen talk about increasing taxes to pay off the fiscal deficit, the government signs a RD$400 million contract with landscaper Margarita Gomez, which Toral says is understood by many to be yet another privilege.
"And those are the things that we know about, where people are doing business even with the workshops, so imagine what is happening with the larger projects," commented Toral.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)
Toral said that the government is spending RD$6 billion on deceitful propaganda, telling citizens that it is resolving the problems, when in reality that spending on propaganda is only making the problems worse.
He said that instead of confronting the Central Bank deficit, the government has increased it to the point where it has now reached RD$150 billion, much more than what it was on 16 August 2004 with the change of government.
He mentioned that the population thought that the two fiscal reforms bringing about an increase in taxes carried out by this government, which required major sacrifices from the population, were to meet that deficit. "And now the Technical Minister of the Presidency says they have to increase taxes to pay that debt," he reports. Toral criticized the fact that instead of dealing with the problem, the government has chosen to start building a metro, when all sectors told the government that given the magnitude of the economic crisis, a metro could not be a national priority.
Toral also criticized the fact that while the government announces its plans to impose more taxes, it delegates the collecting of its debts to a private company. "What is needed is the complete opposite", says Toral. "Reduce taxes, stop lavish spending and halt corruption".
He mentions that despite the crisis, the government announces a loan to equip the Police, at inflated prices, which the Technical Minister of the Presidency himself condemned. And while government spokesmen talk about increasing taxes to pay off the fiscal deficit, the government signs a RD$400 million contract with landscaper Margarita Gomez, which Toral says is understood by many to be yet another privilege.
"And those are the things that we know about, where people are doing business even with the workshops, so imagine what is happening with the larger projects," commented Toral.
Link To Original Article (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#2)