- Thread starter irsav
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whining about restaurant taxes
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It's 28% in total. 18% ITBIS and 10% ley....it's the law. With the new computer systems you need to upload your ITBIS tax each night to the government office.
You know much more than I do about the DR law and I do not dispute what you say.
What I can say after spending the past month in LT (not Sosua, sorry) is that maybe 40 % of establishments in the tourist area did the 18%/10% thing and 60 % of establishments did not.
I can say most , if not all the tourists we met (Swedish, German , American, Canadian) quickly determined the restaurants charging the 28%, and we almost unanimously avoided these places.
My point being, it is quite a competitive disadvantage when your business follows the law and the business beside you does not, with seemingly no consequences.
Perhaps I am off topic, but what the heck, so is 75% of this thread...
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You know much more than I do about the DR law and I do not dispute what you say.
What I can say after spending the past month in LT (not Sosua, sorry) is that maybe 40 % of establishments in the tourist area did the 18%/10% thing and 60 % of establishments did not.
I can say most , if not all the tourists we met (Swedish, German , American, Canadian) quickly determined the restaurants charging the 28%, and we almost unanimously avoided these places.
My point being, it is quite a competitive disadvantage when your business follows the law and the business beside you does not, with seemingly no consequences.
Perhaps I am off topic, but what the heck, so is 75% of this thread...
restaurants which do not charge the 18% ITBIS, and the 10% tip charge, are in violation of the law.
they are just as guilty of corruption as the cop who tries to squeeze you for a 100 peso note in a traffic stop.
We only go to the honest places who do not have this snaky hidden "charges". Thank you!
You beat me to it SKY. I can't speak on Sosua but in SD most restaurants have "impuestos incluidos" as a foot note on their menus where as a few add it on the menu price when you are handed the bill.
Whether or not they pay it to the government is not my concern. That becomes a government issue and has nothing to do with the taste of the meal.
Yes. EVERYTHING must be included in the PRICE. And if we like the PRICE we will eat in their place.
If on the bill we see "17%', "18%", "10%", "20%", etc, etc, etc - WE NEVER EVER COME BACK TO THEM.
Hastalavistababy!
Funny although you are going to pay all the taxes either way I too much prefer to see it included in the menu price.
the government says otherwise, and they are the guys who decide how it will be. some guys can play roulette and skirt the rules, but the Dominican government is ruthles when it comes to people whom they think are trying to beat them out of revenue. when some guys roll up in a black Land Cruiser, and you are not in compliance, it does not end well. this is not the year 2000.
You know much more than I do about the DR law and I do not dispute what you say.
What I can say after spending the past month in LT (not Sosua, sorry) is that maybe 40 % of establishments in the tourist area did the 18%/10% thing and 60 % of establishments did not.
I can say most , if not all the tourists we met (Swedish, German , American, Canadian) quickly determined the restaurants charging the 28%, and we almost unanimously avoided these places.
My point being, it is quite a competitive disadvantage when your business follows the law and the business beside you does not, with seemingly no consequences.
Perhaps I am off topic, but what the heck, so is 75% of this thread...
Whether the total 28% required by law is noted separately in the bill , just included in the menu price, or ignored entirely by the business, it is supposed to be collected and passed to the government and employees.
If not, then a consequence could be that the business is shut down by the tax department. Computerization in each business networked to the government is supposed to make this collection inevitable.
Many places include the 28% in their menu prices, however when you receive the printed bill, your food and beverages will be itemized and adding the tax at the end. So, if the restaurant has a POS system, they automatically have to pay the 18% ITBIS to the government. The 10% ley is to be shared equally to all employees during that shift.
With so many people complaining about this, I see nobody complaining about paying 30% you are paying on your internet/cell phone bill, which is criminal.
With so many people complaining about this, I see nobody complaining about paying 30% you are paying on your internet/cell phone bill, which is criminal.
So you base the quality of food on price? If you don't like seeing taxes added on your bill, you won't be eating out very much in Santo Domingo or any nice restaurant. It's just a fact of life. I don't like taxes either, but it won't stop me from enjoying life and looking cheap.
Only restaurants making more than 6 million pesos per year need to have a POS system.
Remember that the 10% is paid to staff, not to the government. And even the most innumerate never-been-to-school-in-his-life Dominican is capable of working out roughly what their 10% comes to, and capable of putting in a complaint to the Secretaria if they don't get it. I don't see many restaurants not paying this, apart from family businesses.
For the first few years we went out for dinner frequently. When I was in town I'd try some of the food midday type offerings at various establishments. I definitely had some good meals. I can't recall having a great meal but I do recall many "meh" meals. That alone was enough to curtail my forays to restaurants unless we have guests or some other special occasion.
The 10% tax or by another name, a compulsory tip, drove me nuts at home and continues to irk me here. I do not believe in compulsory tips and would prefer if businesses would pay their staff a living wage and include those costs in the prices for their food. I do not appreciate the "guilt trip" when reminded that the owner is getting labour at below market value and directly foisting their savings onto the customers directly. While one can make the point that the consumer pays either way, I do find the logistics of this popular approach to be upsetting.
I don't go out to restaurants much anymore. When I need something I can't easily make at home, I use take out so I do not have to pay the 10%. It not that I am being cheap, but I just prefer eating at home, where I do not have to deal with less than angelic children, sometimes rude or distracted staff and when I am done eating I can fire up a cancer stick without having to care who might object.
I would like to see the day when menu prices can be added together and that is what the final bill comes to. I would like to see a day when employees do not have to rely on compulsory tips to make ends meet and the day when the tip really is a gratuity as intended for good food, good service and an all around enjoyable experience. Until then I am content to serve myself.
The 10% tax or by another name, a compulsory tip, drove me nuts at home and continues to irk me here. I do not believe in compulsory tips and would prefer if businesses would pay their staff a living wage and include those costs in the prices for their food. I do not appreciate the "guilt trip" when reminded that the owner is getting labour at below market value and directly foisting their savings onto the customers directly. While one can make the point that the consumer pays either way, I do find the logistics of this popular approach to be upsetting.
I don't go out to restaurants much anymore. When I need something I can't easily make at home, I use take out so I do not have to pay the 10%. It not that I am being cheap, but I just prefer eating at home, where I do not have to deal with less than angelic children, sometimes rude or distracted staff and when I am done eating I can fire up a cancer stick without having to care who might object.
I would like to see the day when menu prices can be added together and that is what the final bill comes to. I would like to see a day when employees do not have to rely on compulsory tips to make ends meet and the day when the tip really is a gratuity as intended for good food, good service and an all around enjoyable experience. Until then I am content to serve myself.
I understand that restaurants have to charge the 18% + 10% by law, but to me I much prefer it to be included in the menu price, rather than added a 28% "surprise" when you get your bill if you haven't read the small print on the menu and brought your calculator. Many restaurants manage include the extra to do away with any confusion, so I don't see why the others can't. It just has a nasty odor of trying to mislead clients to me.
A business are charges the proper tax at the bottom of a receipt and a nasty odor of being misled? Granted, most businesses here ignored the law and skated around it for a long time. But now that it is being enforced don't turn around and call a foul. There are plenty of tax free zones left in the world where you can drink and dine without paying a local tax, I just can't think of any right now.....
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