President Danilo Medina announced on Sunday, 30 June that the government would postpone until 2014 the implementation of the controversial 1% tax on assessed value of motor vehicles. The scheme was set to go into effect this October with most vehicles paying more for the right to transit. The tax would have produced an additional RD$1.8 billion for the government. This is the second time the progressive tax is recalled.
The President said that the decision was taken so that the economy does not slow down further after economists alerted to the effects the fiscal reform passed in November 2012 has already had on the economy. The government reported the economy had grown 0.3% of GDP during the first quarter and was only beginning to pick up in the second quarter. The average growth in the Dominican Republic has been around 4% GDP.
http://www.dgii.gob.do/noticias/Paginas/Posponen-para-2014-cobro-de-nuevo-impuesto-a-placas.aspx