The Congress will rush through long-pending legislation in order to clear the legislative calendar. According to Senate president, Ramon Albuquerque, the current session will be extended through July 27 in order to pass a new social security law, an environmental code, an energy regulatory act, financial and monetary reform, and customs duties reform. None of these proposals is new, and several have been bottled up in Congress for months, and even years. Alburquerque admitted that wrangling between the PRD-dominated Congress and the current PLD administration was to blame for the long delayed enactment of such major bills. However, the Senate president also said that the incoming PRD government would enjoy much more harmonious relations with Congress. Alburquerque, who represents Monte Plata Province in the Senate, is also a vice president of the PRD. One of the laws likely to be enacted this summer is the transfer tax on manufactured goods (ITBI). The current 8% tax on goods and services will be raised to 10%, according to Alburquerque. The Fernandez administration had proposed an increase to 12%, but the smaller figure better represents "national consensus" according to Alburquerque. Other bills that will receive rapid congressional attention include the bill to reduce customs duties from a maximum of 35% to 20%; a bill to protect and conserve rivers, forests and coastal waters; a bill that would legalize the already operational functions of a superintendent of energy; a bill that would enlarge the scope and nature of medical services contemplated within the orbit of social security (which is staunchly opposed by the medical establishment); and the bill to ratify the DR’s participation in the WTO.
