are bars expensive?

is it expensive to go bar hopping? how much does it cost for a beer?

Beer prices in the DR are very cheap. Between RD$25.00 & RD$45.00 pesos. US$1.70 to $2.90. Some people will talk about RD$12.00,15.00 etc. but I'm talking about bars who pay their taxes.

For example in Cabarete you pay for a beer about RD $ 30, for a ron soda RD$ 20, for a Caipirinha RD$ 45-50 and for a bottle of water RD$ 15 to 20. Salute!
Maria

Now Eddy, why do you assume that those who sell their beers more near cost do not pay taxes? The cheaper prices I've seen are usually at the little colmados and supermarkets. And at the La Central Express website you can order a case of small bottles for $25, large bottle cases are $40. That said, your prices do seem pretty well in line with the club/bar prices I've seen.

I'm sure that colmados among others DO NOT pay taxes of any kind. How could they afford to sell a beer at 12.00 pesos when the cost is 10.00+

I have to agree with Eddy. Colmados open and close with such frequency and have such a low profit margin, with little reserve capital, that it is unlikely that most pay taxes. Several Dominicans, whom I know quite well, operate small colmados and don't pay taxes (these are very small establishments).

OK, maybe this is a silly question (but I am asking it in all seriousness): Is it possible that some colmado owners don't realize that they are supposed to be paying taxes? To what entity do you pay the taxes? I mean, how do you go about registering your business and who then enforces the payment of taxes if you don't pay? Sort of like the free electricity and/or water, that really isn't supposed to be free. But whom do you pay and how is payment enforced? I look forward to your explanations. Thanks.

Well, having lived in a small community for several years I know that the vast majority of people are aware of the fact that they should be paying for water and electricity. They may not, and several admitted to me that they didn't, but they are aware that they should be.

As for the corporate tax, I believe some individuals might very well be unaware that they should be paying taxes. Many colmados are built into parts of private homes. The owner may have paid taxes when buying the land and has then never paid taxes again, except for point of sale taxes. S/he may not think that they need to pay taxes because of the size of their establishment. I believe, Eddy or someone else correct me if I'm wrong, that there is a tax exemption for those businesses that earn less than RD 30,000 per annum.

Sarah,

Most Dominican businesses, large and small, and home owners, rich and poor, know full well that they're supposed to pay for their water and electricity, and in the case of Santo Domingo, their trash collection. But many attempt to avoid doing so anyway. For example, I can't count the times I saw someone from CAASD was outside the door of the house of the owner of the DR's largest home-grown department store (take a guess which one!) trying to get someone to come to answer the door because the house hadn't paid its water bill in months!

By now, most businesses in SD, esp. the colmados, know that they are supposed to be paying taxes. During the Fernandez government, the Direcci?n General de Impuestos Internos (DGII) was cracking down on all deliquent taxpayers, esp. businesses. Colmados were being closed, and even one supermarket chain went out of business because of their back-tax bill. The retailers association has been grumbling about this since 1998 or so.

If you want more info on DR tax policy and DGII procedures, visit their website at www.dgii.gov.do

Hope this helps.
Regards,
Keith

Hey Mike Your question reminds me of the guy who wants to buy a Cadillac and says How many miles to the gallon will it get

Keith R is 100% correct. It is not in the Dominican culture to pay taxes, electricity, water etc. They feel that they should be getting all this for free. The "Mi pais" syndrome. The best example, on one side of the street a condominium complex owned by foreingers. (Electric bill 10,000.00 to 15,000 per month. Water 2,900.00 per month. Garbage collection 700.00 per month etc.) Other side of street, Majority Dominican owned Electric 0.00. " Back debt of 200,00.00 or more" Monthly water :0.00 "they have been cut off but are stealing it through another source". (Back debt. several 10,000.00's) Garbage collection 0.00 (They owe the city quite a bit of $$$ but what can they do?

Re: Oops! Mistake in web address

Sorry, guys, I entered the DGII website address improperly. The link is www.dgii.gov.do

[Thanks to Sarah for identifying the problem!]