Senate President Ramon Alburquerque said that the Congress will pass the free trade agreements signed by the Fernandez administration with Caribbean and Central American countries as soon as the tariff reform bill is passed. Pending for the passing of this is a decision on how much the increase of the value-added tax will be. The tax on sales is 8%. There is a consensus to raise it to 10%. The increase in the ITBIs tax would compensate expected drop in customs receipts.
