NewsWhore
11-15-2006, 05:10 PM
Last night President Leonel Fernandez gave the speech that many have been waiting for since the announcement of the government's third tax reform program was made in Washington, DC last month. In the run up to the speech, speculation about just what the President would say has filled many inches of newsprint, and the speech seemed to calm many nerves.
The President told the nationwide audience that what he called a "tax correction" would affect VAT on "a few more items", but not milk, medicine or agricultural supplies. He did not, however, do anything to allay fears about the new tax hitting coffee, sugar and cooking oils, which was one of the public's main concerns.
Fernandez also mentioned that the tax on "luxury" houses would be increased from 1% to 2%, and that the 5% tax on hotel rooms would be re-established along with taxes on alcohol and tobacco products.
In a move aimed at calming the very vociferous opposition to the new tax program, the President said that the government would "tighten its belt" in order to fulfill the goals set by the International Monetary Fund. The President specified this would entail a substantial reduction of government jobs for temporary personnel, per diems, officials' personal expenses, telecommunications expenses, travel expenses and fuel consumption.
The President said that of the RD$35 billion that the government was looking for, half would come from the new taxes and half would come from government austerity programs.
In general, the opposition parties were not that pleased with the speech. PRD party president Ramon Alburquerque said that with the elimination of the propane and gas subsidies, "what is coming will be very hard." However, an article printed in El Caribe does not mention the removal of these subsidies that cost the government US$650 million for electricity alone. Federico Antun Batlle of the PRSC said that the President "didn't say anything new, and in fact he left the situation rather cloudy."
Members of the Dominican business sector, like Yandra Portela of the Industrial Association, said that her group would be meeting to analyze the speech and would be making its position clear in the near future.
Transport conglomerate leader Ramon Perez Figuereo said that the speech did not meet the people's expectations, since it did not mention the electricity crisis.
For the speech in Spanish, see http://www.presidencia.gov.do/frontend/discursos_amp.php?id=32
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)
The President told the nationwide audience that what he called a "tax correction" would affect VAT on "a few more items", but not milk, medicine or agricultural supplies. He did not, however, do anything to allay fears about the new tax hitting coffee, sugar and cooking oils, which was one of the public's main concerns.
Fernandez also mentioned that the tax on "luxury" houses would be increased from 1% to 2%, and that the 5% tax on hotel rooms would be re-established along with taxes on alcohol and tobacco products.
In a move aimed at calming the very vociferous opposition to the new tax program, the President said that the government would "tighten its belt" in order to fulfill the goals set by the International Monetary Fund. The President specified this would entail a substantial reduction of government jobs for temporary personnel, per diems, officials' personal expenses, telecommunications expenses, travel expenses and fuel consumption.
The President said that of the RD$35 billion that the government was looking for, half would come from the new taxes and half would come from government austerity programs.
In general, the opposition parties were not that pleased with the speech. PRD party president Ramon Alburquerque said that with the elimination of the propane and gas subsidies, "what is coming will be very hard." However, an article printed in El Caribe does not mention the removal of these subsidies that cost the government US$650 million for electricity alone. Federico Antun Batlle of the PRSC said that the President "didn't say anything new, and in fact he left the situation rather cloudy."
Members of the Dominican business sector, like Yandra Portela of the Industrial Association, said that her group would be meeting to analyze the speech and would be making its position clear in the near future.
Transport conglomerate leader Ramon Perez Figuereo said that the speech did not meet the people's expectations, since it did not mention the electricity crisis.
For the speech in Spanish, see http://www.presidencia.gov.do/frontend/discursos_amp.php?id=32
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#1)