Higher rents forecast

[NewsWhore]

Economist Gustavo Volmar says that the proposed unifying of all properties belonging to one owner so that the proposed RD$6 million exemption could be applied to their total value would be reflected in a rent increase. Properties are currently valued for their individual cost, which has served as an incentive for investing in rental properties that are exempt from the tax. Volmar says if Congress favors this new tax, it should not be called a tax on property, but a tax on real estate patrimony. He forecast that property owners would increase their rents considerably to compensate for the tax. "And, worse still, the tax will discourage the purchase or construction of housing for rent, which will reduce the offer and increase the housing deficit, and the shortage will stimulate still higher rents," he writes in today's Diario Libre.

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