2005 – Page 138

In the wake of the terrorist attacks against mass transit systems in London yesterday morning, security checks of passengers traveling to the US and Europe were reinforced yesterday at Las Americas International Airport in Santo Domingo, Listin Diario reports. The reinforcement of security in the terminal was announced during a press conference. The contingency measures …

Read more…

President Leonel Fernandez is promoting the establishment of renowned information technology company Hewlett Packard in the DR. This has the intention of stimulating Dominican students to get involved in advanced technology. The multinational company offers infrastructure and information services to businesses and individuals and would be installed in the Santo Domingo CyberPark. The President also …

Read more…

Technical Minister of the Presidency Temistocles Montas has developed a draft tax reform that would compensate the estimated RD$30 billion impact on collections during the first year of the DR-CAFTA. The proposal includes: an increase in the application of the VAT (ITBIS) at a different rate and exempting some food items, medicines and health and …

Read more…

According to EFE press agency, the DR and Central America must increase their lobbying in the US to face the difficult task of assuring the 218 votes required for the DR-CAFTA to be ratified by the House of Representatives. Salvadoran Ambassador to Washington Rene Leon warned, “It is not time to feel victorious because victory …

Read more…

The Tax Department (DGII) reminded taxpayers that 3 August is the deadline to purchase vehicle license plate renovation stickers, as reported in Diario Libre. The department director, Juan Hernandez, said there would be no extension of the deadline as multiple and convenient opportunities have been provided to purchase the document quickly and without traumas. He …

Read more…

Listin Diario reports that the Confederation for Evangelical Unity asked the Senate to approve a bill that would allow them to perform marriages among their members, estimated at more than one million Dominicans. The organization’s president, Rev. Reynaldo Franco, explained that the law would formally permit pastors to perform marriages. Franco also classified abortion as …

Read more…

The US prohibition of DR avocados of the Semil 34 variety will cause approximately US$3.1 million in loss between 01 September and 17 October of this year, and will affect the finances of approximately 25,000 families that directly depend on its farming. According to the president of the Avocado Production Branch of the Dominican Agribusiness …

Read more…

Wind power got a start in the DR when the Consorcio Energetico Punta Cana-Macao (CEPM), a privately owned utility, signed financing with the International Finance Corporation (IFC). IFC agreed to provide up to US$10 million and a guarantee of up to US$13 million to support construction of an 8.25-megawatt wind power plant and CEPM’s capital …

Read more…

The Tax Department (DGII) collected RD$6.3 billion in June, 34.2% more than in June 2004, as reported in Diario Libre. That is the same proportion of growth reported regarding collections of the Customs Department last June. Tax Department director Juan Hernandez said that total income collected during the first semester of this year was RD$41 …

Read more…

An additional US$5 charge on airline tickets that will come into effect in November, is expected to collect between US$20 and US$22 million yearly during the three years that the charge will be in effect. Yesterday, Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez said that Decree 336-05 that increases aviation charges had errors. “Where it reads US$15 (for …

Read more…