The Association of Shopping Centers (ONEC) is protesting at Congressional plans to consider changing the law to extend to 10 years the age of imported vehicles. Dominican law currently restricts imports to five-year old vehicles. The president of ONEC, Antonio Ramos says that the bill sends a contradictory message. He said that on one hand the government has pushed through a tax reform and on the other hand it is pushing through a bill that will generate less resources for the government and encourage more informality. He said the new fiscal reform establishes a tax for vehicular circulation of 1% of the value that depends on the age of the vehicles, but if the new bill is approved the country will be flooded with old vehicles as people try to avoid paying the higher circulation tax.
“We need to have a coherent and precise government. If the government wants money, then this should come from formal business,” he said. Ramos said that the legislators are not thinking that they will be importing junk cars that are obsolete, will consume more fuel and more spare parts. He said that happened with the opening of the market to used clothing imports. He said it was contradictory for taxes to be increased on new cars at a time when the government wants to extend the limit on imports of used cars, as reported in Listin Diario.
The proposal to increase the limit for importing old vehicles to 10 years was also rejected by the Association of Vehicle Concessionaires, Acofave. Its president, Enrique Fernandez said that if the objective is to make vehicles more accessible for purchase by the middle class other alternatives should be found.