2006 – Page 40

Verizon Dominicana admits that it is negotiating with the government about the taxes due on the sale of its assets in the Dominican Republic. According to Verizon statements made to Diario Libre reporters, Verizon Holdings Canada has offered the government a way out of the impasse by offering to pay US$250 million in return for …

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President Fernandez’s former chief of staff Danilo Medina, apparently an “eternal candidate”, has hoisted his first billboard at the corner of 27 de Febrero and Abraham Lincoln Avenues in Santo Domingo. The billboard, an electronic marvel, proclaims Medina as the “reorganizer” and leader of the New Heading faction of the PLD.

The Dominican Republic has dropped to sixth place in the Latin American Globalization Index compiled by Latin Business Chronicle. The DR ranked second last year. This significant slip is explained by the fact that the DR’s trade, tourism receipts and remittances as a percentage of GDP in 2005 fell compared to 2004, while the country …

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As many as 70% of children in the eastern region of the Dominican Republic are born to Haitian parents. This, according to Otto Pena Guzman, is the case in Altagracia, La Romana and Hato Mayor provinces. Hoy newspaper confirmed this information in each of the areas mentioned and also found that the same applies in …

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Earlier this year, young Vanessa Ramirez was shot and killed by a young man who tried to steal her cellphone. This past week, The Vanessa Heartbeat and United Hearts of the Cibao Foundations joined forces to operate successfully on thirteen youngsters with cardiovascular problems. This brings to 140 the number of kids who have had …

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The Ministry of Culture has announced that this week is National Music Week, and next Sunday, 3 December, is Merengue Day. Maestro Luis Alberti is being honored with a centennial plaque at the Bellas Artes School in Santo Domingo today. Alberti is the composer of such famous merengue tunes as “Compadre Pedro Juan”, “Sancocho Prieto”, …

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Second baseman Alfonso Soriano is a very happy man. He has just signed a contract worth RD$4.556 billion Dominican pesos or US$136 million for eight years’ work in Chicago, Illinois. That is RD$569.5 million per year, RD$1.56 million per day and RD$65,000 per hour for the next eight years. He might be underpaid. While this …

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The Aguilas Cibaenas won two games from Escogido before falling to the Gigantes de San Francisco de Macoris at home. The second placed Gigantes beat the Estrellas 2-1 in the Julian Javier Stadium in San Francisco de Macoris on Friday. On Saturday they were rained out in San Pedro de Macoris and on Sunday they …

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The fiscal reform that President Leonel Fernandez officially announced in his speech on Tuesday is slowly being modified. This is not a surprise since Presidency Technical Secretary Temistocles Montas was quoted in yesterday’s Diario Libre as saying that some taxes that are considered unsuitable will be replaced. Listin Diario writes that Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa …

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The National Hotel & Restaurant Association (Asonahores) has reacted to the announcement of a new 5% tax on hotel rooms by describing it as “absurd and irrational”, saying that it will turn the Dominican hotel industry into the most highly-taxed in the Caribbean region, as reported in Listin Diario. Finance Minister Vicente Bengoa has argued …

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