The Mejia administration requested and received RD$4 billion in pre-payments on taxes from industrial and commercial entities, a detail that will affect the Internal Revenue (DGII) department’s final numbers for the year, according to Juan Hernandez, the DGII boss. The official pointed out that Verizon alone advanced the government RD$2 billion in anticipated taxes. According to Hernadez’s statements in the Listin Diario, “The government is going forward, but it is chained from behind” because so many entities have a credit balance in their tax standings. Hernandez told the Listin reporters that the former government depended on contracting loans and seeking tax payment advances from the major companies in the Dominican Republic. He also complained of a 38%-39% tax evasion rate, especially with regard to the payments due from the VAT or ITBIS taxes. The Internal Revenue director said that the case is serious as the government faces its obligation to return nearly RD$7.0 billion in tax credits to the companies that had pre-paid funds to the government.