The Chamber of Deputies Finance Commission is seeking the application of other taxes to avoid the extension of VAT (ITBIS) to more than 200 basic foodstuffs. This would be done according to proposals received during the public hearings that were held earlier this week, but they will be careful not to harm the interests of the neediest and not to dismantle the bill submitted by the Executive Branch that seeks to collect RD$31 billion to compensate for the abolition of several taxes that will take place when the DR-CAFTA agreement comes into effect, according to commission chairman Marino Collante. Collante informed that there is consensus among the 23 members of the commission to study the application of other taxes on the wealthier sectors of society. Government spokesman Roberto Rodriguez Marchena stated that if Congress does not approve a tax reform that guarantees the resources needed, the budget allocations for several institutions, including Congress, would have to be reduced.
Rodriguez assured that this warning is not blackmail but rather a reality because the government has to have sufficient economic resources to invest in education, health, transport, and other services. “If there isn’t sufficient income, what are we going to do? It’s a matter of simple mathematics. If you don’t have money, you can’t distribute any,” said Rodriguez.