Transparency costs more

[NewsWhore]

A noted developer and builder, Jaime Gonzalez, has said that the cost of housing would increase by nearly 10% due to the new tax reporting regulations. Gonzalez explained to reporters from Hoy that as a result of the latest tax increase, called a correction by government, construction companies now must pay a 16% VAT tax for labor costs incurred when building a house. Suppliers of the raw materials that go into a house are also adjusting their pricing in order to adapt to the new tax regime. All this will be reflected in the cost of a housing unit, according to the builder. Another issue facing the housing industry is the evident slowdown of new housing starts, attributable in part to the problems facing more informal suppliers that have not yet obtained the new invoice documents required by the new taxes and reporting rules. In turn, builders are waiting to start up new projects until their suppliers have the necessary documents that will allow them to discount costs incurred during the construction process.

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