El Siglo newspaper editorializes today on the difficult situation the Mejia administration is placing upon the Dominican business sector. "It is characteristic of some populist politicians to squeeze entrepreneurs on two fronts: by levying taxes and by increasing social benefits of workers" The newspaper comments that according to the government "the rich" are the businessmen that provide jobs and organize production. To pay the higher salaries, higher production costs (such as energy) and increasing taxes, the businessmen need to increase the prices of the goods they sell or produce. Then, in addition to being called "tax evaders" by the government, they are described as "exploiters," which the newspaper says has a "prestigious phase with a revolutionary ring to it. The editorial concludes that in the long run this policy has boomerang effects. "In a few years harmony is replaced by resentment. Local investment disappears and social harmony is tainted."
