2004 – Page 93

The president of the National Association of Restaurants (Asonares), Elizabeth Scheker, urged senators not to increase the ITBIS (VAT) tax from 12 to 16% as part of the proposed fiscal reform package. She said the increase will mean patrons will have to pay a minimum of 26% on what they consume, and this is without …

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He who perseveres succeeds, says the old proverb, and Gary Zemialkowski might agree. As a member of local rock group Top 40, Zemialkowski and his bandmates hold the record for Dominican rock group longevity, having been together for 17 years. Born in the US of a Polish-origin father and Dominican mother, Zemialkowski arrived in the …

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Do not miss “Nostalgia,” a performance of the National Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Carlos Piantini at the National Theater. The benefit for the Juan Manuel Taveras Foundation, which supports those who cannot afford quality medical treatment and provides for the training of young interns, includes the following music: La Strada by Nino Rota, Malambo by …

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President Leonel Fernandez has filled an entire page in most of the newspapers over the weekend with lists of new assistant district attorneys and prosecutors. The President also named the directors and sub-directors for the Cooperative Institute, the Small Business Program, the Postal Service, the State Sugar and Livestock Board (CEAGANA), the Price Stabilization Institute, …

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As many criticize the fact that former Vice-President Jaime David Fernandez Mirabel has been left out of the current administration, PLD party leader Lidio Cadet revealed that the former VP was offered a post and turned it down. El Caribe reports that amid the heavy pressures being exerted by PLD party members to win the …

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The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, said that the government negotiating team was arrogant and that the tax reform bill was “minimally” agreed upon because neither the commission that studied the legislation nor Pachecho himself would allow themselves to be provoked by the government’s committee. As reported in Hoy, the head of …

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A spokesman for the International Monetary Fund stressed that fiscal reform was of equal importance as the restructuring of the electricity and banking systems. Improving the administration of public funds was also an essential factor in the country’s recovery, in the organization’s opinion. The Fund expressed confidence in the new government’s commitment to reform with …

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Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito has ordered his people to review the files of over 100 prisoners recently released from custody by former AG Victor Cespedes Martinez. El Caribe says its sources at the attorney general’s offices have indications of some irregularities and that Dominguez Brito wants to know all the details. In defense of …

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Claudia Franchesca de los Santos, the Under-Minister for Transportation and Communication at the Public Works Ministry, reported that 16,000 plastic drivers’ licenses and the machine used to print them were stolen between 18 May and 15 August. As a result, the DGTT (Transportation Department) has provided a 30-day period for those people whose licenses are …

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In spite of public declarations of payment for the subsidy, propane gas continued to be very scarce all over the country. The president of the refinery, Aristedes Fernandez Zucco, told El Caribe reporters that he had not received the RD$200 million that was reported to have been paid by Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa. In fact, …

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