The United States Embassy is reportedly pressuring the Dominican Senate to modify the tax reform proposals currently under review there. Reports say the US wants to amend Paragraph 9 of Article 11, which calls for an additional sales tax of 25% on locally made soft drinks manufactured with sweeteners with high fructose content. Sources in Congress told the Diario Libre that this measure would affect syrups imported from the United States. The DR Senate’s vice-president, Augusto Matias, warned that the inclusion of the tax on syrups could have serious implications on the DR-CAFTA agreement.
After much debate, the fiscal reform legislation was sanctioned by the Chamber of Deputies, from where it was forwarded to a special Senate commission. These senators are currently meeting with technicians from the Permanent Auditing Office to study the bill. If the US succeeds in making the change, however, the legislation would have to be returned to the Chamber of Deputies and the process would begin anew.