Residents of the Dominican Republic will be paying higher consumer prices come January 2014 as an increase in taxes that were approved for gradual implementation in the November 2012 Tax Reform Law 253-12 kicks in. Increases in the ITBIS from 8% to 11% will affect the cost of products including yoghurt, butter, sugar, coffee, oil and chocolate, as reported in Diario Libre.
There will also be an increase in the Selective Consumer Tax rates applied to alcoholic beverages and beers, by liter of pure alcohol, according to paragraph 1, article 22 of the Law. This will affect beer, wine, whiskey, rum, gin, and other beverages.
The tax that charges for the negative effects of carbon gas emission from motor vehicles will also go into effect, as set out in article 15 of the Law, which was postponed until this year due to the economic slowdown that occurred in the first half of 2013. The tax obligation will follow the original provisions regarding the exception of public transportation, on vehicle type and year. This will be collected when stickers are renovated at the end of 2014.
In addition, a RD$12,000 yearly tax on commercial retail establishments with total sales of more than RD$50,000 a month, including bars and restaurants, is going into effect, as set out in article 47 of the Law.