Economist Luis Manuel Piantini, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank, criticized the objective of increasing the tax burden without the population receiving an increase in basic services offered by the government. He said that when tax reform was first enacted by the late President Joaquin Balaguer in 1990, the burden to the people was 8%, according to IMF data. He said this has risen to 17% today. Speaking on the TV Program ?Con nosotros,? Piantini said that in just 12 years the tax burden has doubled, which is a record by regional standards. He said that one must also add to this the extraordinary increase in foreign and internal debt taken on by the government. When taxes are increased, said Piantini, the population, and especially the middle class, would hope for public services to ameliorate. He said that the middle class, which is who is most affected by an increase in taxes, will see no benefits, as this segment of society does not send its children to public schools, nor do they visit public hospitals, in both cases because of the poor services offered at these state institutions. Furthermore, he stated that in the current scenario taxpayers need to provide for their security services and operate alternate power plants to ensure power service. He contrasted this with other countries, where the middle classes can and do send their children to the public education system. Piantini warned that increasing the tax burden will worsen the situation of businesses, causing more firings. In his view, if to this one adds a compulsory wage increase, then many companies will not even be able to stay in business.