The Tax Department (DGII) is billing companies for the 1.5% tax on gross sales by averaging the sales of the past three years, then adding an estimated 15% growth rate per year. The companies that make tax payments lower than that amount are being notified that they need to pay the difference. The business community has protested, saying the department is not taking into account the slowdown of the economy which caused a decline in sales of 25 to 40%. Jochy Vicente, president of the Asociación de Jovenes Empresarios (ANJE), criticized the government for taking it for granted that companies increase their sales every year and is ignoring the slowdown of the economy. Freddy Madera of the DGII said that when companies have proven in the past that their sales were down, the department has come to an agreement.
