2008 – Page 208

Cesar Geronimo, ex-major league baseball player with the Cincinnati Reds, and better known in DR as Cesarin Geronimo, is being inducted to the Cincinnati Reds’ Baseball Hall of Fame this July. His induction coincides with the 50th Anniversary celebrations of the team’s hall of fame. This is the first step on his way to the …

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President Leonel Fernandez has attended mass at Rome’s Basilica de San Giovanni Batista de Fiorentini, where a chapel to the Virgen de la Altagracia, protector of the Dominican Republic, was opened in 2007. Yesterday’s mass was to give thanks to God for Fernandez’s re-election in the 16 May 2008 election. Monsignor Ramon Benito de la …

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President Leonel Fernandez has issued the Renewable Energy Ruling yesterday, on the occasion of Environment Day. The ruling applies to Law 57-07 on renewable energy. Reports are that RD$3 billion in renewable energy programs were waitlisted for incentives contained in the ruling.

President Leonel Fernandez has sent a bill to Congress that seeks to strengthen free zone industry competitiveness. The bill calls for 100% exemptions on income tax, ITBIS value added tax and luxury tax. Free zone companies would also be exempt from paying taxes on telecommunications, and on imports of inputs, machinery and vehicles.

Congress passed an amendment in the DR-CAFTA trade agreement that will allow the DR to use Mexican fabrics in the production and export of clothes and textiles. Luisa Fernandez Duran, director of the National Free Trade Export Council (CNZFE), said that the amendment was agreed on 30 May. The amendment, 204-08, is relative to the …

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Fernando Capellan, president of the Dominican Association of Free Zones, and president of Grupo M, the largest apparel company in the DR, highlighted the company’s contribution to the economy yesterday. He stressed that manufacturing free zone companies’ exports make up 70% of the country’s total exports. He said that the apparel sector within the free …

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The absence of diplomatic relations with China is making it difficult for the DR to take advantage of the size, strength and diversity of the Chinese economy. According to a report in the Listin Diario, it’s like turning your back on the most diverse and fastest growing economy in the world. Listin writes that in …

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Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez and Airport Department director Andres Van Der Horst concur that the profitability problems affecting the airlines and leading to cuts in flights and frequencies to the DR has a direct effect on remittances, agriculture and tourism. They said that the government is exploring the possibility of cutting taxes on aviation fuel …

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Dominican Travel Writers Association president Manuel Quiterio Cedeno says that while the Dominican government cannot do anything about international oil prices, it can cut its own taxes. He says that from May 2004 to May 2008, the tax on avtur has increased 901%, and the cost of fuel is up 104%. An analysis of avtur …

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Ernesto Gonzalez has announced that the Ferry del Caribe will have its own terminal at the Sans Souci tourist port. Gonzalez, president of the company, said that in order for the Ferry to have its own terminal, President Leonel Fernandez, through decree 193-07, set aside 29,353m2 at the port. Gonzalez thanked Fernandez for providing an …

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