Economist Luis Manuel Piantini, a member of the Monetary Board and former longtime deputy governor of the Central Bank, warned that if the proposed tax reform currently under study in Congress is passed as is, it would bring major downward adjustments in private spending, which would complicate the road out of the present recession. He says the government, as a result, would collect less taxes, not more. Piantini said private spending has fallen RD$136 billion in the past year and a half, a reason for which he recommends that the new economic authorities and the IMF refrain from further penalties to the private sector. He pointed to the fact that a surplus has been achieved in the current balance of payments and said imports were already down US$1.11 billion last year. The problem was that the government had not reduced its own spending, according to him.
http://www.hoy.com.do/(1ksexj45ghxdwwjp4n4hge55)/…