Commercial establishments in San Francisco de Macoris will be closed from 6am today, Thursday 9 January. Traders are demanding that President Danilo Medina extend the deadline for the installation of the tax printers. They are unable to take on the costs of machines at present, according to the president of the Dominican Traders Federation (FDC), Ivan Garcia during an event attended by several traders’ representatives. Garcia said that around 99% of businesses in San Francisco de Macoris were supporting the strike in the province, adding that they plan to bring trading to a halt in several towns around the country throughout this month. The campaign will culminate in a national traders strike on January 30-31. When Diario Libre reporters visited several businesses in the capital, they found that many traders, despite having missed the 31 December 2013 deadline issued by the Tax Department (DGII), did not yet have the tax printers, and others, although they do not qualify for the installation of this equipment, say that they will support the traders’ strike.