The director of the governmental tax department known as DGII, Teofilo ?Quico? Tabar, said the lack of financial supervision of clients and owners of banks was responsible for propagating the recent banking crisis. Tabar questioned the wisdom of changing the Monetary and Financial Code to impede the tax department from having complete access to data of financial institutions, and only being able to access this on a case-by-case basis.
The director of the DGII urged the elimination of the rulings in the Monetary and Financial Code that restrict the capacity of the DGII to carry out tax audits. He said the modification was inserted to the code under the argument that banking confidentiality is one of the pillars of the financial system. Tabar spoke during a presentation on fiscal reform recommendations at the Central Bank.
He said the job requirement of presenting a police report of good conduct be changed to require that the candidate present proof of an updated income tax filing.
Tabar also commented that there is no way the government will be able to cover the quasi-fiscal debt with an increase in the ITBIS tax.
During the same seminar, there seemed to be a consensus that it would be better to reduce the number of products and services exempt from the ITBIS tax. Both Central Bank Governor Jose Lois Malkum and the president of the National Council of Business (CONEP), Elena Viyella de Paliza, favored this position. Lois Malkum believes taxes should be reduced to serve as an incentive for more people and companies to pay their due. Viyella de Paliza said, “We want the taxable base to be expanded and that rates be dropped so that there are more people paying and more transparency,” she said as reported in the Listin Diario.