The Senate has approved the controversial tax reform bill as it was received from the Chamber of Deputies, amidst intense government criticism, as reported by Listin Diario. The total collection capacity of the bill is RD$24.359 billion. The Senate must now send the bill to the Executive Branch where it will be signed into law or vetoed. Since the Senate had previously declared this bill urgent, the President has only three days to sign it into law or make observations. The first vote in the Senate was 21 out of 27 whereas the second vote was 19 out of 27. Abstaining Senators were Cesar Augusto Matias, Enriquillo Reyes, Dagoberto Rodriguez Adames, Bernardo Aleman, Tonty Rutinel Dominguez, Manuel Emilio Ramirez Perez, Jose Tomas Perez, and Victor Mendez. The bill contains Income Tax exemptions for salaries under RD$23,500 per month as from January 2006. The 1% luxury property tax remains with an exemption for properties under RD$5 million. Also included is the anticipated 1.5% tax on gross sales.
Diario Libre reports that the bill has passed both chambers after three months of study, public hearings and debates in Congress. It includes a RD$12 tax increase on premium gasoline, and RD$3.27 on diesel. It also includes a 5% increase on Income Tax for earnings over RD$900,000 per year. It excludes approximately 300 items from VAT (ITBIS), among which are cooking oil, sugar, agricultural raw materials, animal medicines, and bird and fish feed.
El Caribe reminds readers that the bill must now be signed into law or vetoed by President Leonel Fernandez. During the Senate debate, many opinions were contradictory. Almost all Senators were against the content of the bill, but they were in favor of its approval. Senate and Chamber of Deputies Presidents Andres Bautista Garcia and Alfredo Pacheco visited the Presidential Palace yesterday as soon as the tax reform bill had passed. They were observed to be speaking to Secretary of the Presidency Danilo Medina but it was not disclosed whether they met with the President. Bautista said that the Senate approved the bill as received from the Chamber of Deputies because there was no time for further modifications.
Clave Digital reports that the bill was passed at 3:40 pm Thursday just 10 minutes after it was declared urgent.