Following the Senate’s approval of the controversial 5% tax on export goods, the export sector has decided to suspend its voluntary fixed-rate monthly contributions to the government. The business community had agreed to make the contributions on 8 November, but now claims that the 5% tax goes against their agreement with the government, and that the so-called “solidarity contributions” had been intended as a substitute for the 5% tax, which was being proposed at the time of the agreement. Exporters had pledged to contribute RD$1 for every dollar exported, which would have come to a total of RD$80 million per month. Exporters’ association ADOEXPO had said that “with the signing of this agreement, the state commits itself to abstain from introducing any surcharges or additional taxes on the export sector, such as the proposed 5% export tax”. Their executive vice president, Horacio Alvarez, warned that as well as contravening the agreement, the tax would place an impossible additional burden on exporters already affected by the current economic crisis. “It is not just that we are refusing to pay this surcharge, we really cannot,” said Alvarez. He explained that during the months of August, when the government imposed a similar surcharge, exports plummeted, leading to a sharp reduction in tax income for the authorities. Arturo Villanueva, executive vice president of hoteliers association ASONAHORES, stated that his organization would continue with their contributions until the 5% levy became law.