According to the IMF stand-by agreement, medicines will fall under the application of the ITBIS tax (VAT). At the present time, they are excluded from taxation. According to INFADOMI spokesperson Leila Mejia Roldan, the increased cost will make it difficult for low-wage earners to buy medicines that are already very expensive. The most popular medicines have already nearly tripled in price due to the devaluation of the peso. El Caribe reports that an important stipulation of the IMF agreement requires the removal of all items currently noted in Article 343 of the Dominican Tax Code, which spares their taxation under the ITBIS. Another urgent necessity is to reduce the volume of tax evasion in order to fulfill budget requirements.