The Minister of Finance and Economy, Magin Diazurged this Thursday that Dominican society agree to promote the reforms What does the country need before facing a crisisand not after, as happened in the transformations of 1992 and 2004, as he recalled.
“The challenge is reform before of a crisis. “That does not mean that there is an imminent reform, but it does mean that we must discuss it,” he stated.
Díaz pointed out that there are accumulated distortions for years that must be corrected gradually and intelligently, so as not to affect the social stability. Among them he mentioned the lack of indexation of various taxes and public fees that have been frozen for almost a decade.
He indicated that the Income tax It has not adjusted its exempt minimum for years, the price of fuel has not been indexed since 2015, the cost of the label has remained fixed since 2017 and the values of the properties do not reflect the current market, which affects collection.
“Let’s talk about everythingnot just one thing. The government has avoided adjustments so as not to affect the population, but there are distortions that must be corrected,” he said.
The official insisted that a more realistic price and tariff scheme would allow the economy to function better at medium term.
Fight against tax evasion
Díaz highlighted that the fight against tax evasion is a central axis of the current management and assured that the Government will take the necessary measuresalways following due process.
“Not many people can give me classes on how to combat evasion. We know which sectors are being most affected and we will act accordingly“, he expressed.
International context
When reviewing the recent challengesthe minister recalled that since 2020 the Dominican economy has faced successive shocks, the pandemicglobal rise in food and energy, global inflationincreases in interest rates and recent tensions in international trade.
He highlighted that, despite this, the Dominican Republic has preserved the macroeconomic stabilityan element that he described as “non-negotiable“.
Public debt and growth
He maintained that the country’s debt is “perfectly sustainable” if the responsible management current. He recalled that the local capital market has matured since 2006.
Furthermore, he defended the government goal to promote the productivity and increase the public investmentespecially in infrastructure, as a way to sustain growth in the medium term.
A year of slowdown, not recession
Díaz explained that the economy is going through a period of slowdown, growing at half its potential. To counteract this, he said that the Government increased the public investment adjusting the budget within the framework of the fiscal rule.
Magin Diaz spoke about these issues when participating as a guest speaker for the Northern Region Industrialists Association (Airen) at its annual luncheon, held at the Utesa Dominican Culture and Convention Center.
The meeting, headed by its president Luis José Bonilla Bojos and with the participation of the Minister of Finance and Economy, Magin Diazgathered industrial leadersgovernment authorities and business representatives of the Cibao.
Recognitions
Within the framework of the activity, plaques of recognition for her contributions to the industrial sector were presented to the vice president of the Republic, Raquel Penaalready Rafael Santos Badiadirector of the National Institute of Professional Technical Training (Infotep).
