Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Liberation Party described the fiscal reform proposal, presented by the Government, as a devastating blow against the well-being of the Dominican population and particularly against the middle class.
Executive Branch deposits tax reform project before the National Congress
The spokesman general secretary of the PLD, Charles Mariotti highlighted that the current government administration has been characterized by waste of public resources and irresponsible debt.
“This government lacks the moral authority to ask the population for a sacrifice of the magnitude like the one set out below,” Mariotti said.
In that sense, he pointed out that this government has increased the payroll public in 122 billion (which represents 56%) as well as pensions at 26 billion, which is 38% of how he found it.
He also pointed out that the Government increased the advertising spending in 3,646 million with an increase of 56.5% and which increased the deficit of the electricity sector by almost 24,000 million pesos, despite the fact that the electricity rate increased by more than 35% for most households.
“But, above all, the debt of the public sector by more than 25 billion dollars, going from 50 billion in September 2020 to more than 75 billion dollars today. Most of the debt has been used to finance the wasteful spending of these resources,” Mariotti explained.
He highlighted that the government’s public investment has fallen to historic low levels, which has resulted in a deterioration of public infrastructure (roads, streets, drinking water, electricity, storm drainage, services and attention in the neighborhoods)“all to the detriment of the quality of life of Dominicans.”
#PLDMainCover | HE @PLDenlinea will accompany citizens in their efforts to preserve quality of life and well-being | Video.
For the PLD, the tax reform proposal announced by the Government is a hard blow to the middle class and the poorest sectors.… pic.twitter.com/aQtcoZZ4Wp
— PLD (@PLDenlinea) October 8, 2024
“No one can take advantage of his own fault to justify your actions. A government that has increased the external debt disproportionately and, as a result, today has to pay an additional 102,000 million in debt interest versus 2020 (up to 263,800 million pesos in 2024), which has increased spending in a wasteful manner In the terms that we explain, it lacks legitimacy to ask the population to consent to a tax reform that severely threatens the well-being of the citizens themselves,” he warned.
He said that for the PLD the proposed decisions are highly inflationary because they broaden the application base of the ITBIS, because they range from 0 to 18% for a wide range of goods and services for basic consumption of the population.
He considered that, if the reform is approved in the terms proposed by the government, the Dominican Republic would be one of the few countries in the region that would apply the maximum ITBIS rate to a set of widely consumed goods and services in the region. basic basketconsumed by the most vulnerable population and the middle class.
He assured that the Dominican Liberation Party will accompany citizens in their efforts to preserve the quality of life and well-being to which, in his opinion, government efforts contributed: “We will not remain indifferent to an alleged reform that only will deepen poverty and social inequality in the country.”
Mariotti read the PLD position in the company of Zoraima Cuello, of the Central Committee, as well as the economists Luis Reyes and Guarocuya Félix, the latter secretary of Economic Affairs of the political organization.
