The Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD) is asking the government for a fiscal pact as agreed to in the National Development Strategy. Circe Almanzar, executive vice president for AIRD says: “We have proposed the need for a fiscal pact because the tax reforms have not worked.” The executive committee of AIRD is meeting to analyze the proposal of the IMF to increase taxation. Almanzar said: “There is no good in increasing taxes if simultaneously work is not done on spending, to correct the fiscal deficit.”
She said the AIRD does not oppose tax incentive laws when these do not create distortions or unfair competition. She urged the government to move on the education, fiscal and electricity pacts that are indicated in the National Development Strategy (END). She said the END gave a deadline for the agreeing to the pacts for 26 January 2013, as reported in El Caribe.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 ranked the administration of former President Leonel Fernandez as that with the highest “wastefulness of government spending” of 144 countries. The Medina government has kept most of the Fernandez administration officers.