Calls to create “Tariff amnesty” for productive sectors and maintain fuel subsidies.
Economist raises price increases affect Dominican wages. The Vice Dean of the Faculty of Economics of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo (UASD)Antonio Ciriaco, considered this Tuesday that the increase in the prices of products and services in the country due to inflation has deteriorated the purchasing power of Dominicans based on their salaries.
During an interview on the show “Evening Empire”which is broadcast on radio station 107.7 fm, the economist revealed that the constant increases in the prices of fuel, food and services such as transportation in the Dominican Republic have exceeded the established minimum wage of RD$21,000.00 in the country compared to a basic basket for the first population quintile of RD$24,000.00.
In addition, he considered that the 70% of inflation that affects the Dominican economy is due to three lines, which are the price of food by the large chain of intermediaries in the market that increases costs; the price of fuels for which Dominicans must pay two taxes, the Tax on Transfers of Industrialized Goods and Services (ITBIS) and the Selective Consumption Tax, which generates the State 50 billion a year, but remains in a very concentrated market and finally the price of rentals in housing.
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In this sense, he warned that a good strategy would be increase production levels agriculture in the country and create more structures such as the Merca Santo Domingo at the national level to shorten the chain of intermediaries.
In addition, he called on the Government to establish a “tariff amnesty”that is, temporarily exempt from the payment of taxes the inputs that affect poultry production to reduce the external impact of the prices of raw materials.
It also invited the Government to expand the coverage of the food supply through popular sales, so that it becomes a mechanism for the lower and middle classes to have a break. He also assured that the Government must continue to subsidize fuels since these are the mechanisms that the State has to reduce costs.
