The technical committee that worked on the different aspects of the many tax proposals was not able to include the ideas it received from the tourist sector or those from the agricultural sector in the final document. The government will study the two proposals separately. This morning, according to El Caribe, the Technical Minister of the Presidency will receive the proposal that has been worked out between the private sector and the government. According to a source within the tax department, the ceremony will take place in the Presidential Palace, and the ministry will then deliver the report to President Fernandez. The secretary of the National Dialogue, Iraima Capriles, told El Caribe that the National Hotel & Restaurant Association (Asonahores) and the Agribusiness Council (JAD) had presented their cases to the technical committee, but no consensus had been reached, so their petitions were set aside as “differences of opinion.” These are not the only dissenting voices in the process that is looking to replace the RD$32 billion that the government stands to lose as a result of the DR-CAFTA trade agreement. Ivan de Jesus Garcia, the head of the Dominican Traders Federation, said that the current proposals will punish the poor, and in exchange, he suggested a 10% increase in income tax and a 5% tax on CDs. According to Garcia’s figures, these two steps could generate RD$9 billion for the government, and allow basic foodstuffs to be taken off the VAT tax list.