2003 – Page 23

The government has proposed to submit a budget to Congress that would request somewhere between RD$120 billion and RD$125 billion for the year 2004. According to Listin Diario reporter Maximo Manuel Perez, RD$105 billion would be derived from the usual taxation, and another RD$20 billion would be obtained from external sources in the forms of …

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EIU Newswire on the Dominican Republic, released on 2 December, says that the campaign for the May 2004 Presidential election will take place in a context of widespread social discontent and protest. EIU highlights that, “despite his growing unpopularity and fierce opposition from within his own party, Hipolito Mejia intends to run for re-election. The …

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Those interested in acquiring a perspective on what 2004 may bring for the Dominican Republic in the context of Latin American should attend the Fundacion Global lecture, given by Dr. David Anthony, Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Director of Country Risk, this Thursday, 4 December at 7:30pm. The event can also be viewed through the videoconferencing …

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Cesar Sanchez, the head of the CDEEE, told reporters from El Caribe that in spite of the Official Commission for the Electric Sector having designated December as the last month of subsidies for consumers, the government would continue to provide this umbrella during 2004. If not for the subsidies, known as the Compensation Fund, consumers …

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The head economist at the PUCMM sponsored Cenantillas think-tank, Pedro Silverio, takes on the government and the Report on Electricity in El Caribe’s editorial page today. According to Silverio, the government’s “irrefutable” arguments were not credible enough for the IMF’s high-level team, sent recently to the DR to study the impact of the purchase of …

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President Hipolito Mejia announced yesterday that the government would return RD$74 million to the tourism and free zone sectors, collected as part of the “tax contributions.” According to Maximo Manuel Perez of the Listin Diario, Finance Minister Rafael Calderon told reporters that the money would be returned since the majority of the business community had …

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The critical shortage of propane gas should be eased over the next few days, as a ship carrying LPG (Liquid Propane Gas) is expected to arrive today. Amaury Justo Duarte, the president of the Dominican Oil Refinery (Refidomsa), said that on 9 December another ship was also due to arrive. Justo Duarte warned that the …

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Canadian company Energold Mining Ltd. has announced a joint venture with Irish company MinMet plc on the Longyear Property in the Dominican Republic. The property is described as highly strategic given that it lies 3.5kms southwest of the Pueblo Viejo mine, where more than 5 million ounces of gold have been extracted from oxides and …

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At a ceremony attended by President Hipolito Mejia yesterday, the Leon Jimenes family announced the creation of the Banco Leon, which will represent a union between the Banco Profesional and the newly-acquired Banco Nacional de Credito (Bancredito). Carlos Guillermo Leon, president of the Leon Financial Group, told the attending dignitaries that the family has faith …

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The Leon Jimenes Group set forth its tax proposals in the Senate, showing how the country would receive an additional RD$750 million as a result. The new idea is to tax alcoholic beverages on the basis of liters of pure alcohol, adjusted for inflation. According to the group’s submission, the new tax structure would provide …

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