The special commission created by the Chamber of Deputies to study the proposed new tax package decided last night not to increase the current 6% VAT that is assessed on publicity. Marino Collante, the chairman of the commission charged with the task of analyzing the many varied fiscal proposals submitted by dozens of institutions and associations, pointed out that while the members had rejected the proposed 10% VAT increase on publicity, the changes devised by the commission will not reduce the amount of money collected. According to the spokesperson, more than 90% of the projected new tax proposals have been studied and the bill could be forwarded to the Chamber of Deputies president as early as today. Collante furthermore expressed confidence that the bill would be ratified this week. Despite this optimism, however, the tax reform legislation does not appear on today?s agenda and there is some opposition coming from Deputy Pelegrin Castillo, who is unhappy that his proposals have not yet been heard. The spokesperson for the PRD delegation, Ramon Agramonte, told reporters that insurance policies were also removed from the group of services facing the 1% increase in the Dominican VAT, also known as ITBIS. As Agramonte expressed his appreciation for the acceptance of the PRD proposal that allowed insurance charges to remain at 6%, he also told reporters for El Caribe that the PRD would submit a proposal for a 30% increase in the minimum wage as a separate legislative initiative.