New beer tax back fires on government.

[Gutter Meat]

Drinking less beer
Beer consumption decreased by 30% in the month of January. The Cerveceria Nacional Dominicana, makers of the Presidente and Bohemia beer brands, say that the decline in sales came as a result of the higher cost of beer due to the tax increase as part of the January fiscal reform. The beer company said that the drop in sales has offset the hike in the selective tax on consumption, which means that the government will not be collecting the extra taxes it had budgeted.

[Gutter Meat]

which means that the government will not be collecting the extra taxes it had budgeted.


Ummmm, how about lifting the curfew so there's more time to drink !! Maybe then the government can benifit from the tax hike.

[Hemp]

lol...just when you think ole GW is a bone head...you hear about the "get money quick" schemes in these 3rd world countries...lol

idiots...lets raise taxes on people that are already below the poverty line???

[ChicaRider]

Two of many absolutely boneheaded moves by the goverment trying to control and/or make more money of the people and tourists...

Raise the beer tax so less people can afford to buy it....watch beer sales go down (while imported beer sales go UP btw) and actually LOSE money on tax collections.

Put a curfew on liquor sales that not only reduces the amount of money tourists spend into the economy, but has the opposite desired affect in the tourist areas...crime rises because unemployment in the hospitality industry rises...

Just a sobering thought... there are more than a few places charging 100 pesos for a Presidente these days... that's about $3 US...this is a Third World Country!!! Beer in other TWC's averages about 50 cents a bottle...or less...and I bet if you took the national average for a budweiser in an American bar, it would be much less than $3...

[Beads]

Two of many absolutely boneheaded moves by the goverment trying to control and/or make more money of the people and tourists...

Raise the beer tax so less people can afford to buy it....watch beer sales go down (while imported beer sales go UP btw) and actually LOSE money on tax collections.

Put a curfew on liquor sales that not only reduces the amount of money tourists spend into the economy, but has the opposite desired affect in the tourist areas...crime rises because unemployment in the hospitality industry rises...

Just a sobering thought... there are more than a few places charging 100 pesos for a Presidente these days... that's about $3 US...this is a Third World Country!!! Beer in other TWC's averages about 50 cents a bottle...or less...and I bet if you took the national average for a budweiser in an American bar, it would be much less than $3...

I have to agree with this. The problem is even worse by the fact the DR government keeps adjusting the peso against the dollar and in effect also the euro and other foreign currency thinking it will help the economy for the locals when in fact it will hurt. Prices keep going up and the value of foreign currency remains about the same. Hence prices to visit and invest are going up as well. The economy needs to be driven by the people making the investments and spending the money in the country.

The worst of it all is the people who are barely getting by and rely on tourists and foreign investments to make a living. Tourists and investers will spend less money because they have less buying power.

Small towns like Sosua rely HEAVILY on tourism and foreign investments. Less money being spent each year will have disastrous effects on a town like this.

You can only stretch the rubber band so long and eventually it will snap.

[guttaman]

An extra 100 pesos on a 1.75 of Extra Viejo is fine with me. Never liked the Dominican beer but i love the rum.

[ChicaRider]

Here's a specific example of the irony/stupidity of the new beer tax (btw, I believe it was already the highest of any latin american country before Jan 1) at Sosua beach yesterday I was handed a flyer for the Happy Hour at Jolly Rogers... a bucket of LOCAL Presidentes or Bohemias is 300 pesos, while a bucket of IMPORTED Brahma or Molson is 200 pesos!!! In what universe could this possibly be good for the country or it's people, not to mention the people who work for Presidente/Bohemia, and all those involved in the trickle down economics of its production... I think we know where all the confiscated drugs from the big busts are going...

[Berzin]

Well, Leonel and his crew rely heavily on all the drug money being invested in high-rises in Santo Domingo to make the city look more cosmopolitan. That's all they care about. This is why he travels so much-he's not a president, he's an ambassador. And it is obvious he does'nt give a shit about the country.

Hey, with all the malnourishment and poverty, let's go ahead and build a fucking metro!!!

And lets' be real, if the government was'nt allowed to artifically manipulate the exchange rate, it would be around 45-55 pesos per dollar.

The DR id headed in the wrong direction. No wonder so many muthafuckas would rather jump on a yola than stay there.

[Jimmydr]

Well, Leonel and his crew rely heavily on all the drug money being invested in high-rises in Santo Domingo to make the city look more cosmopolitan. That's all they care about. This is why he travels so much-he's not a president, he's an ambassador. And it is obvious he does'nt give a shit about the country.

Hey, with all the malnourishment and poverty, let's go ahead and build a fucking metro!!!

And lets' be real, if the government was'nt allowed to artifically manipulate the exchange rate, it would be around 45-55 pesos per dollar.

The DR id headed in the wrong direction. No wonder so many muthafuckas would rather jump on a yola than stay there.


I think its heading in a better direction than it was two years ago.

[prtyr2]

At the merengue bar of the jaragua a bottle of presidente was 200 pesos! That was before the price hike! I am not sure if they raised prices since.


Two of many absolutely boneheaded moves by the goverment trying to control and/or make more money of the people and tourists...

Raise the beer tax so less people can afford to buy it....watch beer sales go down (while imported beer sales go UP btw) and actually LOSE money on tax collections.

Put a curfew on liquor sales that not only reduces the amount of money tourists spend into the economy, but has the opposite desired affect in the tourist areas...crime rises because unemployment in the hospitality industry rises...

Just a sobering thought... there are more than a few places charging 100 pesos for a Presidente these days... that's about $3 US...this is a Third World Country!!! Beer in other TWC's averages about 50 cents a bottle...or less...and I bet if you took the national average for a budweiser in an American bar, it would be much less than $3...

[ChicaRider]

For better or worse, the east coast, north coast and samana are attracting more BIG money developers/investors than anywhere in the caribbean right now...Donald Trump's company just signed a deal to build a $2 BILLION, yes with a B, resort at Cap Cana...

[prtyr2]

They are building upscale properties in bayahibe, la romana and more affordable stuff in juan dolio. In fact they are trying to price out many juan dolio condo owners to raise the prices.

[Beads]

Sound alot like Miami during its real estate boom. We all know what happenned there....

[Berzin]

I think its heading in a better direction than it was two years ago.

For who, exactly? The more than 70% of dominicans recently polled who would rather leave the country than stay? Who will you have left, the very few that live well? There will be no more hookers left if that happened...

[Jimmydr]

For who, exactly? The more than 70% of dominicans recently polled who would rather leave the country than stay? Who will you have left, the very few that live well? There will be no more hookers left if that happened...


It use to be 90% wanted to leave the country.