While reiterating that the government spent too much money on the elections, the leading members of the National Business Council (CONEP) are also eyeing the fact that by year’s end government spending will have been 40% higher than last year. CONEP president Manuel Diez Cabral told reporters from Listin Diario that over the last six years government income has gone up by 10% each year, and that the 2012 numbers indicate that tax income for the year will be at least 15% above last year. Diez Cabral was crystal clear in saying: “This is evidence that there was no drop in income, but rather an overestimate of the income in this year’s budget.” At the same time, the business leader said that there was an underestimate of the money required for the electricity subsidy when only RD$10.6 billion was budgeted. Ultimately, CONEP says that the fiscal deterioration was due more to poor management and planning of the public finances than to a fall in tax collections. Because of this, the business group says that now, more than ever, there is a need for a fiscal pact as indicated by the National Development Plan.