In it study “Micro, small and medium enterprises in Dominican Republic 2022–2023″, prepared by the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and MSMEs (MICM), the main obstacles faced by this segment were identified based on the National Survey of MSMEs 2023.
The most cited obstacle is high tax payment to the General Directorate of Internal Taxes (DGII), indicated by 20.8% of those surveyed, followed by the connection of the electrical service with 15.6%. Also noteworthy are the procedures for linking, unlinking and payments to the Social Security Treasury, which represent 9.4%, and the connection of internet services with 8.8%, both essential procedures for any formal operation.
To a lesser extent, there appear health permits of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance, with 6.2%, and the opening bank accountswith 5.5%.
In addition, import or export permits, construction licenses and permits were also mentioned in the National Industrial Property Office (Onapi).
According to the same studyin 2022 only 14.8% of MSMEs in the Dominican Republic were formal, that is, 85.2% were within the informal sector. In other words, of the 404,034 MSMEs In the country, 344,237 operated from the informality.
Reduce timescosts and simplifying the tax system would allow companies to concentrate more resources on increasing their production and less on bureaucratic processes. A more efficient administrative environment could encourage many businesses that currently operate from the informality decide to join the system, expanding the tax base.
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A collaboration of the Regional Center for Sustainable Economic Strategies (Crees).
