The Fern?ndez government says it has no problem increasing salaries of public hospital physicians if the National Congress passes a new tax bill which would fund the increase. The medics seek an increase of RD$70 million a month. The president of the Chamber of Deputies told Hoy newspaper that the new tax could be levied on the sale of alcoholic beverages and gambling. The president of the Dominican Medical Association executive committee, Waldo Ariel Suero has yet to meet with the president of the Senate, Ram?n Alburquerque, who already has expressed his opposition to the proposal. Alburquerque does not like the idea of passing a new tax, and said that the government needs to be more efficient in its money handling in order to squeeze the requested funds from the present budget. If the government passes an increase in salary for the medics, all other government sectors will request increases. The government has indicated it does not contemplate salary increases for public employees.
