The president of the Dominican Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Companies, Issaachart Burgos praised the recent Microbusiness Registry launched by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MIC) and implemented by the Deputy Ministry for Small Business at the MIC. The Registry of Small Business is a simplified government service that enables microbusiness to register a business in 24 hours by presenting a personal identity card (cedula) and paying RD$500. He made the comments during an interview with the economic editor at Hoy.
Burgos said the new system makes it possible to obtain the National Contributors Registration (RNC) of the Tax Agency (DGII), the Mercantile Registration of the Chamber of Commerce, the registration of employees in the Social Security (TSS) and in the Ministry of Labor all in one place.
Burgos says, nevertheless, the government needs to do much more to make formalization more attractive to small business. He said it is necessary to reform the Labor Code and the Social Security Law, and simplify the payment of taxes.
Burgos says microbusiness and small business find too costly the hiring of a skilled accountant to deal with the difficult government red tape processes. He said that the Simplified Tax Payment System (PST) of the DGII needs to be made more efficient and functional to make it attractive to small businesses. He said as it is only 10,000 small business are using the PST. Burgos says that small business taxes should only require one form and a one-time payment. He also was critical of the Labor Code that is the same for small, medium and large-sized businesses.
He advocates making it easier so that more small business can be formalized and thus their workers have access to health, labor risk and retirement benefits.
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