William Malamud, executive vice-president, and Edwin de los Santos, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Dominican Republic met with Diario Libre to announce events organized for AmChamDR’s upcoming 100th anniversary. These events include hosting the American Chamber of Commerce delegations for the international organization’s annual meeting in Santo Domingo from 11 to 14 June 2023.
The American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic (AmChamDR) is a non-profit association legally incorporated on 8 November 1923. AmChamDR has around 1,600 members and is one of the largest business organizations in the Dominican Republic.
Malamud spoke of the challenges faced by American Chamber of Commerce member businesses and mentioned efforts to ensure the country operates under the rule of law. “It is something ongoing that has improved a lot over time,” he said.
In the interview with Diario Libre he spoke about opening the economy to competition, which he described as necessary to grow new agreements with other countries and generate the conditions for businesses to compete.
De los Santos and Malamud expressed their concerns on the increase in businesses that do not comply with the laws and generate an environment of “unfair tax competition.” They especially mentioned the proliferation of Chinese-owned businesses that they say evade taxes. The American Chamber of Commerce spokespeople call for the government regulatory entities to establish clear rules and apply the law.
Malamud has been in charge of the operations of one of AmChamDR for 25 years. He says there is still a long way to go. “We are pro-free trade, and free trade implies respecting the rules of the game,” he remarked during the interview at Diario Libre.
He stressed that there are situations that stray from the regulations. “We have cases, such as hardware stores, pharmacies, among others, that are in our membership, and they talk about Chinese merchants opening businesses where they do not pay taxes and after a year they change their RNC (National Taxpayers Registry) to avoid the tax issue. This is a serious matter of concern and has happened in several Central American countries, ” the executive vice-president of Amchamdr commented.
De los Santos called for this situation to be regulated by the tax authorities. “What is sought at the end of the day is that there are clear rules and that transparency rules are established,” he added.
The businessmen demand that Dominican authorities monitor Chinese businesses more closely.
Regarding tax evasions, economist Andres Dauhajre writes in El Caribe that the evasion mentioned by Malamud is happening more with the Tax Agency, not in Customs. He mentions the Chinese business operations lure customs with significant discounts and operate almost 100% cash.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
El Caribe
12 June 2023