A gallon of premium gasoline is priced at RD$250.70 this week, breaking the RD$250 barrier for the first time. Of this amount, the customer pays two items at a cost of RD$86.90 for taxes from Laws 112-00 on Hydrocarbons, and 495-06 Ad-valorum. To this is added RD$35.33 for the so-called margin of benefits to the distributors, retailers and transportation. These to items, taxes plus margin of benefits, add up to RD$122.23. Of the RD$250.70 per gallon of premium gasoline, the customer pays RD$23.73 to the retailer, RD$6.92 to the wholesaler, and RD$4.68 to the tanker that brings it to the gasoline station. For the taxes on Law 122-00, the consumer pays RD$66.35, and for the Value Added tax of Law 495-06 of the tax reform, RD$20.55. This is less than what is paid to the retailers for their profit margins, which this week was RD$35.33. Today, Monday 25 February, Diario Libre describes how much of each of the major fuels goes to taxes and profits.
In response to this situation, the president of the National Federations of Dominican Transport (Fenatrado), Blas Peralta, announced that the sector could no longer carry the tax loads, so that today they would meet in order to determine what percentage to increase the price of the freight that they carry. Peralta said that the government will have to apply some measure, because if not they will go on strike and halt all freight haulage. He said that the sector receives 11 days of subsidized fuels and the other 19 days they have to buy fuel at market prices.