Lawmakers from all political parties represented in Congress have expressed their opposition to the new tax reform that includes a 16% VAT (ITBIS) on basic foodstuffs currently exempt from the tax, as reported in El Caribe. Senator Jose Tomas Perez (PLD) said that the part of the agreement that taxes products such as oil, sugar and coffee must be revised. PRD spokesman in the Chamber of Deputies Ramon Agramonte said his party would analyze the details of the agreement to determine which social sectors would be adversely affected, and insisted that taxing basic foodstuffs should not be allowed. PLD spokesman Elias Serulle said that his party would study the proposal carefully but would not allow the taxing of basic foodstuffs. PRSC spokesman Luis Emilio Reyes Ozuma said the agreement was a “crime against the nation”.