Technical Secretary to the Presidency Temistocles Montas has announced that the controversial "fiscal rectification" that will be handed over to Congress next week for approval will include new taxes, but he refused to give any further details. In his speech, President Leonel Fernandez mentioned that "a few more items" would now be taxed with the 16% ITBIS. According to Diario Libre, the items under consideration: frozen fish, cod, herring, sardines; seafood, sardinesall forms of butter and cheese, honey, grapes and apples, sorghum and rye, beans, nuts, seeds, and flour, cooking oils, margarine, chocolate and cocoa, baby foods except milk, pasta, tomato sauces, soups and broths, salt and vinegar, toothpaste, soaps, matches, detergents, animal foods, fertilizers, insecticides and disinfectants, agricultural products, educational materials (except notebooks and textbooks), all items for the graphic industry.
Montas, making his comments soon after leaving a meeting with the President and his economic team, was quoted by Diario Libre as saying that a commission is being set up in order to review the details of the announced fiscal reform, and the new taxes that could replace others that are considered unsuitable.
Eric Offerdal of the IMF was quoted in Listin Diario as saying that the IMF mission is only trying to reduce vulnerability in the country and reduce the public debt. He described the proposal made by the President as "excellent," as reported in Hoy newspaper. Offerdal also said that the IMF mission in the country is working to perfect the reform announced by the President. Offerdal commended the President's speech and said that the process of reviewing the fiscal reform would continue.
The proposal would go to Congress next week.
Although the President and his economic team have stood firmly behind the fiscal "rectification," the National Business Council (CONEP) and 34 other organizations have rejected the reform, going as far as to take out full page ads in leading daily newspapers today. In the ads, the 35 business associations express their opposition to the tax increases proposed by President Leonel Fernandez in his speech on Tuesday, 14 November.
The business sector's stance continues to be that new taxes are not necessary "if the authorities concentrate on improving their management of current tax revenues, rationalizing spending and focusing subsidies. They propose that by keeping 2007 at a spending level similar to 2006, increasing collections on power supplied, limiting subsidies on propane gas and electricity, applying the Government Procurement Law, implementing the new Tax Department (DGII) billing system, and with the increase in revenues as a consequence of the growth in the economy, the government can achieve the balance it needs in order to meet its commitments with the IMF without harming productive activities or sacrificing social spending.
The associations say that extending the list of items subject to ITBIS (VAT) was eliminated in the 2005 tax reform, but they remind the government that this was compensated for by other taxes that were added. "This scenario leads us to a regression in the road started to achieve a tax structure that stimulates competitiveness with DR-CAFTA soon to be implemented, and a commercial opening that is increasing every day," state the business groups.
They express concern that the government is failing to undertake a critical attitude and fulfill the need for more rationality and quality of spending as a key element.
"The business sector understands the President's motivations but does not agree with his proposal, considering that it is the time to apply corrections to achieve a more efficient and austere government, that is capable of providing services in return for the taxes paid by the public, and not adding and increasing taxes that discourage production," conclude the business groups.
Lawyer Marisol Vicens Bello comments on Tuesday night's speech by President Leonel Fernandez in her opinion piece in El Caribe today. She observes that the speech concentrated on justifying the continued tax adjustments and denying the increase in spending, and on explaining how they would obtain the RD$35 million - 50% from new taxes and 50% from government spending cuts.
She mentions that President Fernandez argued that the tax adjustment is necessary as a consequence of what he described as "an act of malice" by the last Congress that did not authorize sufficient tax increases in the last reform. "The strategy was to make the reform appear light compared to the menu of options that had been leaked to the press," she writes.
She disputes that there was a "rectification," commenting that of the seven measures announced, only one - expansion of items to be taxed by ITBIS (VAT) -- had not been passed by Congress, which instead compensated by increasing income tax from 28 to 30% and adding an ad-valorem on fuel. It is not true that the changes in taxes on tobacco and alcohol were agreed on, nor a 5% tax on hotels, nor 10% on insurance, nor increases in income taxes, nor tax on checking and bank transfers. Furthermore, she mentions that the increase of 1% to 2% of the luxury tax on real estate had not been agreed upon either.
She also questions the announcement of new austerity measures given that these have not been met since they were first touted in the President's inaugural speech. She comments that the President was vague about where the proposed cuts in superfluous spending would be made.
"That is why we understand that this is not about rectification nor austerity, and neither has any measure been taken to contain the hemorrhaging of the subsidies on electricity and propane gas; we will continue on the road of increasing taxes and the constant irrational increase of government spending.
After a meeting with the IMF's technical team to discuss the Central Bank's quasi-fiscal deficit, Technical Secretary to the Presidency Temistocles Montas announced that the government has to transfer RD$5.6 billion to the Central Bank next year in order to pay the interest on the internal bonds that will be issued for the CB's recapitalization. Hoy newspaper reports that this will be part of a 10-year plan to recapitalize the Central Bank. Montas said that as part of the fiscal reform, money is needed in order to deal with the bank's deficit. IMF team member Peter Stella was quoted as saying that the government has an opportunity to help in the recapitalization of the Central Bank in a way that would support development in the internal market, and that it is important that the government create a deep market with liquid assets that would help the Central Bank lower the rates on financial certificates. Hoy reports that the Bank's deficit at the end of this year will be between RD$22 and RD$23 billion.
Almost 100 women suffering from breast cancer and 78 children with leukemia, lymphoma, and Wilms' tumors will all be eligible for free treatment in the country through the Special Support Program Against Cancer (Pessca) which was launched yesterday by the Essential Medicines Program (Promese/Cal). The program will have a monthly budget of RD$4 million to cover the cost of chemotherapy and other medical needs. The program will be run out of La Altagracia women's hospital and those chosen are patients who cannot afford to pay for the treatment themselves.
Although government funding for the highly criticized non-governmental organizations (NGOs) run by legislators is being phased out, Diario Libre reports that it seems that for the moment legislators have found a way to continue receiving state funds to manage at their discretion. Senate leader Reinaldo Pared Perez has announced that each legislator will receive public funds in order to continue with social projects in their respective provinces and that those funds will be audited every three months. Pared Perez did comment however that this move was in no way substituting the NGOs and said that the amount of funds for a particular province will depend on the population of that province.
Amable Aristy Castro was finally sworn in as senator for the province of La Altagracia yesterday, and before the ink could dry on the newspaper articles reporting the act, he immediately resigned his post. Castro pointed out that the country's Constitution does not oblige a Senator to be sworn in to office, and that although the Senate's own constitution says that elected senators have a 90-day period for swearing in, that constitution is not above the country's. Castro said that the PRSC, which has one month to do so, will present a list of three possible candidates to replace him. German Castro Garcia, who according to Hoy newspaper is Castro's cousin, currently tops the list. German also replaced Castro the last time he was elected and resigned the post. This is the third time Castro has been elected as Senator for La Altagracia, and then promptly resigned in order to continue as head of the Dominican Municipal League.
Sociologist Ramon Tejada Holguin comments on the disintegration of the DR's political parties in the opinion page of El Caribe today.
He mentions that the PRD is immersed in the process of choosing who will run for President in 2008, and has forgotten to seek answers to some key questions, such as "What were the causes of the dramatic defeats in 2004 and 2006? How come the masses have let go of the spirit of the PRD? Why is nobody talking about democratic socialism, and why is Pena Gomez at best but a forgotten photo in some office? How come the leadership that commanded such major defeats has been kept on?"
Turning his attentions to the other opposition party, the PRSC, he says that the "feudal lords" who accompanied Balaguer have not been able to get their act together and some are making agreements with the rich and erstwhile very powerful PPH or with the PLD, forming satellite organizations. Another mocks the system and resigns his Senate seat to continue at the Dominican Municipal League that allows him to drive a Hummer and commute by helicopter.
He says the ruling PLD party is like a dragon, in the Chinese sense, using its fire to destroy or build. He writes, "While the PLD does not respond to the expectations of the great masses, it survives because of the absence of options and the other parties' lack of capacity to build something new. Patronage and the principle of inertia are what sustain this party. Tejada nevertheless points out that there is now an internal conflict in the PLD, which is what happens when there is only one strong party in the system. The most radical competition for the presidency is internal.
Tejada concludes that there is space for new options.
Dominican and French troops stormed the beaches of Bani yesterday, launched land to water missiles and evacuated injured citizens. No, it wasn't war or a natural disaster; instead it was practice in case there ever is the need for such action. Both military squads practiced using live ammunition with 12.7mm rounds and 7.62mm precision sniper rifles, as reported in Diario Libre. The Dominican and French troops were practicing land and water tactics as well as rescue missions in case of a natural disaster. The French troops leave the country on 23 November.
Diario Libre reports that National Police Chief Bernardo Santana Paez and National District Mayor Robert Salcedo met yesterday in order to unveil their security plan for the city during the Christmas season. It was announced during the meeting that the number of police officers on duty from both the national police and the municipal police will be doubled during the holiday season, and Salcedo pointed out that 250 members of the municipal police will be on patrol in various strategic areas of the national district. During the Christmas season the recently introduced alcohol laws, which prohibit the sale of alcohol during the week to midnight and 2am during the weekends, will temporarily be suspended from 23 December to 1 January.
The 48-hour strike called for Thursday and Friday by the CNTU transport union in protest at the announcement of the fiscal reform, as well as against the high cost of living and the energy crisis is being supported by the PRD and PRSC parties, but according to Diario Libre the threat has had little or no take-up with the nation's drivers. National Transport Federation leader Blas Peralta called the strike "unreasonable", and instead called for dialogue with the government. He is quoted in Diario Libre as saying that all people want is to earn some money for the Christmas season and that the strike was called too hastily without any previous discussion. President of the Lower Chamber Jose Cesar Valentin, quoted in El Caribe newspaper, said that the strike solves absolutely nothing. Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez has also come out against the strike. CNTU leader Antonio Marte said that he will allow his drivers to make their own decisions, while National Transport Federation leader Juan Hubieres said that his organization will not support the strike, and that his members' buses would continue to run throughout. Union leader Ramon Perez Figueroa said that they would evaluate the progress of the strike at midday in order to determine whether or not to continue.
Dominican Police investigating the murder of Malian journalist Diakite Pierre can't exclude the theory that he might have been murdered by a fellow journalist, while saying that they believe that his death was more likely to have been an accident than anything else, according to Diario Libre. Pierre, who was in the DR for a conference of the International Association for Boxing Aficionados, was found dead in the elevator shaft of the Hotel Melia in Santo Domingo on 6 November. Police have pointed out that Pierre was opposed to the re-election of the Association's current president, which could have led to tensions with other journalists, but members of Pierre's delegation dispute that argument, saying that he had no problems with anyone. Police say that his body was found with multiple injuries, and are calling his death "mysterious" at this stage. Investigations are ongoing and officials will interview hotel staff and conference participants in order to gather information.
Firefighters from 20 different countries met in San Pedro de Macoris yesterday in order to discuss a variety of issues about the service in the Caribbean region. Firefighters from Florida, St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Jamaica, St. John, St. Lucia, St. Martin, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent, and Trinidad and Tobago among others met at the Howard Johnson Hotel. According to Listin Diario the conference aims to tackle security and safety issues, and to increase cooperation between firefighters across the region.
Samuel Paula Rosario, a.k.a. "Quita Tenis", will not go to trial or serve any jail time on drug charges, because the drugs he tried to flush down the toilet as he was being apprehended tested negative, according to El Caribe newspaper. The Department for Drug Control, however, did announce that he would be standing trial for being a fugitive from justice. "Quita Tenis" was wanted on previous drug charges after he was released from jail for a previous drug arrest.
The game stretched into the 11th inning last night until Jose Vargas scored the game-winning run as the Aguilas beat the Tigres 4-3. Jason Simontachi dominated the Escogido as the Estrellas won 4 1, and the Gigantes beat the Azucareros 6-2.
Standings
| Team | W-L | Avg. | Games Behind |
| Licey | 16 - 8 | .667 | - |
| Gigantes | 13 - 11 | .542 | 3.0 |
| Aguilas | 13 - 11 | .542 | 3.0 |
| Estrellas | 12 - 12 | .500 | 4.0 |
| Escogido | 11 - 13 | .458 | 5.0 |
| Azucareros | 7 - 17 | .292 | 9.0 |
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