The president of Banco Mercantil, Andrés Aybar, who is also the current president of the American Chamber of Commerce here, announced that the interest rates for loans are falling and are now at 27%-28%. The previous loan rate was above 30%. In an interview with Hoy, Aybar said that rates should ultimately arrive at around 17% to 18%, which is the goal of the Central Bank’s governor. "We might need five or six months to get the interest rates to these levels," he said, "but I think we’re on the right track." Aybar opposed the 1.5% prepayment tax on gross income. He expressed the view that taxes ought to be assessed on sales cashed in, not on credit sales. He said that businesses that are taxed on credit sales would be headed for bankruptcy. The monthly tax prepayment went into law on 1 January 2001.
